I decided to go for a bike ride early this morning and as I was leaving the garage, It began to rain. I surveyed the cloud situation (old ranchers like me know how to look at clouds) and decided it was only going to be a brief one and took off. The rain on my shirt cooled me off and it actually was a wonderful experience riding in the rain. The rain stopped about a 1/3 of the way through my journey, but the puddles on the road and sidewalk caused me to slow down a bit as I remember falling and breaking my right arm about this time two years ago because of slick sidewalks.

On the way back from the 10 mile turn around, I spied a young boy riding to me with his bicycle headed to elementary school. He had a smaller bike (probably a trick bike) with a nice clean white shirt and clean jeans with a back pack slung over is back. I noticed that as he approached, he was veering into my lane where the puddles of water nestled on the concrete. He was hitting every one and laughing for joy as the water sprayed perpendicular from the tires. What he didn’t realize is that the water from the back tire was spraying up onto his back and jeans, getting his back side completely wet. He was oblivious to the consequences of his driving through the water. He only was experiencing the joy of seeing water go in every direction from the tires hitting the puddles.

What would have happened had he thought of what his mom would be thinking? She would have been horrified at his actions in getting the clothes she had washed, ironed and picked out for him getting all wet and muddy. What would have happened if he thought of the school mates making fun of him when he got to school with stained clothes? You know how kids can be so mean to those who have obvious imperfections. Did he think of how dirty the bike was getting? What about his shoes? Were they getting wet as well as his socks?

All of these things came to mind as I passed this little boy who was having a ball on his way to school. You see, he never thought of any of the circumstances that might have taken place after going through the puddle. He was focused on the joy that it brought him to run through the puddles with his bike and see the water move so wonderfully out of his way as he plowed through the water.

Sometimes it is helpful to have a child’s mind and enjoy the simple pleasures of life without thinking of the potential consequences of each decision we make. Thinking sometimes causes us to miss the simple pleasures of life and robs us of our joy. Jesus was a great proponent of focusing on today and not worrying about our life or our clothing or anything else in life (Matthew 6:19-34). James says something similar in James 1:2-4 about experiencing joy in every circumstance of life. We can only be joyful when we take our eyes off the potential consequences of our daily choices and begin to experience life as it comes to us.

So on this journey, I thoroughly enjoyed riding in the rain and gained insight from a child who was experiencing joy in his circumstances. Joy is there for the taking for you now.