She had been shopping with her Mom in Wal-Mart. She must have been 6 years old， this beautiful brown haired， freckle①-faced image of innocence. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters， so much in a hurry to hit the Earth it has no time to flow down the spout.
We all stood there under the awning② and just inside the door of the Wal-Mart. We waited， some patiently， others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized③ by rainfall. I get lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running， splashing so carefree as a child come pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.
Her voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic④ trance⑤ we were all caught in. “Mom， let’s run through the rain，” she said.
“What？” Mom asked.
“Let’s run through the rain！” She repeated.
“No， honey. We’ll wait until it slows down a bit，” Mom replied.
This young child waited about another minute and repeated：“Mom， let’s run through the rain.”
“We’ll get soaked⑥ if we do，” Mom said.
“No， we won’t， Mom. That’s not what you said this morning，” the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom’s arm.
“This morning？ When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet？”
“Don’t you remember？ When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer， you said， ‘If God can get us through this， he can get us through anything！’”
The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn’t hear anything but the rain.
We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say.
Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation⑦ in a young child’s life. Time when innocent⑧ trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith. “Honey， you are absolutely right. Let’s run through the rain. If get wet， well maybe we just needed washing，” Mom said. Then off they ran.
We all stood watching， smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and. They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. And yes， I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing. Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions， they can take away your money， and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories. So， don’t forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories every day！
To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. I hope you still take the time to run through the rain.
① frecklen. 雀斑，斑点
② awningn. 遮阳篷，雨篷
③ mesmerizev. 对……施催眠术；迷住，迷惑
④ hypnoticadj. 催眠的
⑤ trancen. 恍惚，出神
⑥ soakv. 浸，泡，浸透
⑦ affirmationn. 肯定
⑧ innocentadj. 天真的，单纯的
雨中的记忆
她和妈妈刚在沃尔玛购完物。这个天真的小女孩应该6岁大了，头发是美丽的棕色，脸上有雀斑。外面下着倾盆大雨。雨水溢满了檐槽，来不及排走，就迫不及待地涌向了大地。
我们都站在沃尔玛门口的遮篷下。大家在等待，有的人很耐心，也有人烦躁，因为老天在给他们本已忙碌的一天添乱。雨天总引起我的遐思。我出神地听着、看着老天洗刷冲走这世界的污垢和尘埃，孩时无忧无虑地在雨中奔跑玩水的记忆汹涌而至，暂时缓解了我这一天的焦虑。
小女孩甜美的声音打破了这令人昏昏欲睡的气氛，“妈妈，我们在雨里跑吧，”她说。
“什么？”母亲问。
“我们在雨里跑吧，”她重复。
“不，亲爱的，我们等雨小一点再走，”母亲回答说。
过了一会小女孩又说：“妈妈，我们跑出去吧。”
“这样的话我们会湿透的，”母亲说。
“不会的，妈妈。你今天早上不是这样说的。”小女孩一边说一边拉着母亲的手。
“今天早上？我什么时候说过我们淋雨不会湿啊？”
“你不记得了吗？你和爸爸谈他的癌症时，你不是说‘如果上帝让我们闯过这一关，那我们就没有什么过不去了。’”
人群一片寂静。我发誓，除了雨声，你什么都听不到。
我们都静静地站着。接下来的几分钟没有一个人走动。母亲停了一下，在想着应该说些什么。
有人也许会对此一笑了之，或者责备这孩子的不懂事，有人甚至不把她的话放在心上。但这却是一个小孩子一生中需要被肯定的时候。若受到鼓舞，此时孩子单纯的信任就会发展成为坚定的信念。“亲爱的，你说得对，我们跑过去吧。如果淋湿了，那也许是因为我们的确需要冲洗一下了，”母亲说。然后她们就冲出去了。
我们站在那里，笑着看她们飞快地跑过停着的汽车。他们把购物袋高举过头想挡挡雨，但还是湿透了。好几个人像孩子般尖叫着，大笑着，也跟着冲了出去，奔向自己的车子。当然，我也这样做了，跑了出去，淋湿了。我也需要接受洗礼。环境或其他人可以夺去你的物质财富，抢走你的金钱，带走你的健康，但没有人可以带走你珍贵的回忆。因此，记得要抓紧时间，抓住机会每天都给自己留下一些回忆吧！
世间万物皆有自己的季节，做任何事情也有一个恰当的时机。希望你有机会在雨中狂奔一回。
