It’s Not the Destination, it’s the Journey

The wind was blowing hard, but it didn’t offer any relief. In fact it was much like a dragon trying to cool off a hot cup of tea by blowing on it. The sun pressed down so hard on Jade’s head, its flaming tendrils wiggled their punishment through the holes in the straw cap he was wearing. It seemed as if the straw was sucking water from his head, and while drinking the perspiration directly didn’t exactly sound fun — Jade was still angry at the hat for its thievery.

The forecast was for rain, and on the horizon dark clouds loomed with glorious beauty. But here, it was hot. Really hot. Jade kept trudging along though, he was prepared for this journey. No, he didn’t want the truck to break down in the middle of the desert, but he had all he needed to survive. As long as he maintained focus on the dark, wicked, beautiful storm clouds, the walk didn’t seem so bad.

God, however, had a sense of humor. In the middle of the Arizona desert, there was a cottonwood tree somewhere blissfully unaware of the inhospitable environment. Those stupid little fluff balls kept blocking Jade’s view of the torrential downpour he was heading for. HE DIDN’T DESERVE THIS! Like the straw hat, he was sure the little cottonwood fluffs were robbing the precious little water his body was squirting out of his overworked sweat glands. Those stupid little trees will probably even sprout, using HIS sweat to nurture them.

The cottonwood fluff got thicker and thicker. There were moments Jade couldn’t even tell if the storm was still ahead. All he could see was fluff! What if he turned in the wrong direction? What if the storm dissipated? What if he choked to death on cottonwood fluff?!?!

Jade had enough. He looked up to the sky and screamed with all his might, “WHY!?!?!! Why would you send a fluff storm when I need water?!?! It’s HOT out here! I’m going to die before I ever get to the storm! I don’t understand why you…”

Jade stopped short. The screaming made him feel better. Much better. It wasn’t because of some cathartic outpouring of hostilities though, Jade felt better because of the cotton fluff that fell into his mouth. It… It was refreshing. It was cold. It was SNOW! Jade had been batting SNOW away from his face! He took a moment to look around, and found that in the middle of the Arizona desert he was surrounded by piles of snow.

Jade was right. He didn’t deserve this. The sun was still beating down on him, but as he rolled around in the snow, he realized that it wasn’t about deserving or not deserving. It wasn’t about logic. It wasn’t about weather patterns. Somewhere, someone cared enough to not only send him water — but send him snow. So rather than trying to explain it, rather than trying to refuse it — Jade just appreciated it. And instead of trying to get to the rain, he just stayed where he was and knew things were going to be OK.

Thank you for snowing on me and my family. Thank you for keeping me from being a jaded Jade myself. Thank you for providing me with more than the water I need, but giving me a snowstorm in the desert. I now understand it’s not about deserving, or earning, or even understanding. Sometimes you just have to enjoy the snow. 🙂