Friday afternoon our friends invited us to go to the lake. In my world, when you get invited to the lake, you grab your swimsuit and get in the car.
But fifteen minutes into our adventure, it started to rain.
If you’re from Arizona then you know that summer rain is not a mist.
It’s not a sprinkle.
It’s torrential downpour.
And the downpour is always accompanied by wind.
Crazy wind.
I mean Wizard Of Oz, wind.
And if the air is hot enough, it rises and causes massive thunderstorms.
And when there are thunderstorms, there is lightning.
We call this monsoon season.
I thought for sure date night was cancelled, but to my surprise, our friends called and told us they’d be at the dock and pick us up in ten minutes.
This was about to get real.
At the dock, all the other boats were lined up to pull out of the water. They knew all this rain could quickly turn into a lightning storm, and they weren’t taking any chances.
My husband and I gave each other the “this is crazy” look as we jumped in the boat, and sped off to the canyon.
Guess what happened next?
In less than fifteen minutes the the wind subsided, the rain stopped, and the clouds parted. The water became calm, and there we were, the only boat on the lake.
For the next three hours we played hard, we laughed hard, we tested our wake surfing skills, we binged on cookies and doritos, and blasted Bon Jovi on the radio.
The sun started to set, and the most brilliant colors popped up behind the mountains.
I smelled the fresh clean earth, moved a little closer to my man, and leaned into the summer breeze.
It felt like the perfect moment.
And when I thought It couldn’t get better, I looked up and saw the most stunning rainbow. The kind that arches over the entire sky and kinda takes your breath away.
Did our friends know about the secret magic that was going to happen on the lake after the storm?
I hired a coach seven years ago, and she knew the secret.
She knew the secret about the journey I was about to take. She knew this journey would begin with buckets of rain, harsh wind, thunder, and even some lightening. She knew I might want to turn back and go home because the storm felt too unsafe, too unpredictable.
But she also knew that getting in the boat and weathering the storm was the only way to experience the fresh air, the beautiful mountains, and the rainbow.
And she knew the rainbow would be worth it.
You know what?
She was right.
The rainbow is worth it.
If you’re ready to start your journey, I’d love to be your coach.
You get in the boat, I’ll take you to the rainbow.
photo by Ellena McGuinness
