So yesterday was cold, dark & stormy in these parts… yet our fall leaves were just BURSTING with color – yellows cascading around reds, orange limbs peeking out between… it seemed like Tolkien’s Lothlorien.  Dark sky & rain, but bright colors above & below (lots of leaves pummeled to the ground provided a beauteous fall carpet.)

Yucky day, but lovely if you looked around…

Of course, i forgot to take pictures (!) but today decided to share these taken in Italy a few years ago (same idea, driving around on a cold & rainy November day in the Veneto region of Italy – but i did have my camera handy!  :  )

The thing is, my travel buddies & i could have stayed snuggled up in the lovely villa where we were staying (designed by the amazing architect, Palladio) but even in the rain, Italy is, well, ITALY… there’s beauty to find, cappuccinos to enjoy &…THE FOOD(!)

We had one of the best-est meals of our entire 3 week journey that day, a delightful culinary treasure found on a village road winding around the  hills outside Este – they were preparing for a visit from the Regional Governor & Other Important Personages the next day, but the talented chef produced a gloriously beautiful luncheon for us ( So Incredibly Yummy) & introduced us to her family…

It was a Grand Experience all together, but i digress…

(if you are ever in the Veneto Region of Italy, be sure to find Caffe Breda, a real treat!)

ahhh, The Leaves.  Just like yesterday – God’s Heavenly Paintbrushes busy, busy.

(This is another cool place to visit if you’re near Vicenza – the folks i stayed with were all Palladio groupies, so go figure we visited many places he designed – even in the rain!)

…about The Rain – my sister sent me a wonderful card last week with this quote:

“LIFE ISN’T ABOUT WAITING FOR THE STORM TO PASS.
 IT’S ABOUT LEARNING TO DANCE IN THE RAIN.”
(Vivian Greene)

I think part of learning to dance in the rain is learning to Look Around: you never know what you might find. (If you look for beauty, you might just find it! even in the rain…)

Saw this quote today from C.S. Lewis that is also kinda challenging:

“A proud man is always looking down on things & people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.” 

(in case you don’t ‘get it’ – look harder & see the dovebirds on the chimney – there’s love snuggling above!)

So,  i’m throwing down the gauntlet to Look Around on dark, cold, rainy days (or snowy days in some parts – altho for real, you might need to stay in if it’s Piling On – i am a southerner & we don’t Do Snow; if there’s an inch everything shuts down!)

Look around… & learn how to dance in the rain (or snow, with your snowsuits on!)

When it rains in your life & storms knock out your internal electricity.  Get moving. Plug in your back-up generators. When they blow? Do the battery dance … until you get re-connected to the  Power Grid – there’s a limitless-Heavenly Supply:  Beauty, Joy, Grace, Peace, Mercy & Love… all there, if you look Above.

…& methinks that learning to dance in the cold rain is a mite easier if you’re warm inside.

We ended our cold, wet day driving about the Veneto with the Best-est Hot Chocolate of our trip at a cafe in Este (that is Saying Something as we also visited Vienna where their Hot Chocolate is Really Something!) This was like a cross between hot chocolate & hot pudding. Deeeeelightfully, decadently DEEEEELICIOUS … & oh, how it warmed our hearts (& tummies.)

It might be raining (or snowing) … but Look Around – there’s Beauty to Be Found.  Joy lurks around that next corner…(look UP, not down… altho a beauteous fall carpet of cascading colors may abound if you look down closely!)

… and Love? It’s up Above & all around you (if you’re dating a Beanhead or married to one, just take note there are All Kinds of Love & God’s kind Never Fails.)

grace, peace & Lookin’ Around (on rainy days)

    Virginia :  )