Portrait of a rainy day | Studio tour

Morning - finishing orders and packaging.  Computer work.  The rain pouring down, weeping.

Something on my mind - weighing it down, burdening me with the pressure.  I wrote that thing on a slip of paper and then obliterated it with my embroidery shears.  Sometime you have to laugh at yourself to get the right perspective.

The Post Office, with it's rainy day atmosphere of bright light, the single wall of ancient keyhole boxes adding an air of rich texture and warmth.

A stop at my very bestie's house for a few hours of sewing - because while you're Bunburying, you might as well do it right.  The rain continued incessantly, and I loved it.  Once the grey lifts from your mood, it becomes a cozy blanket enveloping the world in magic.  Wild, sparkling, adventurous.

Almost home, we neared our road when I turned to my little sister - we couldn't possibly go home - not when the road beyond was beckoning.  So we passed right on by and drove to the top of the world instead.  One of my favorite spots on earth.

The majestic lake spread beneath us, and the mountain peaks sat gently, shrouded in silent mist.

God took me there and showed me His infinite love.  Yet again.

No, this isn't an attempt at the portrait of a perfect day, a perfect life.  Far, far from it.

This is the story of a battleground - a picture of a daily battle to be brave, to dream fully, to live with joy and to accomplish good work.  There are so many questions unanswered in my head, some of them seemingly impossible to solve.  There are so many things I wish my life were that is is not.

But through it all, I find I'm always brought back to the simple fact that every moment we have is a gift.  A gift that we can either choose to accept or throw away.  I'm trying to take each one and fill them with glory for my Saviour, with accomplishment and purpose, and with joy.

This was an exercise for myself, to document one day and try to capture the essence of it's underlying beauty.  To reject the fears and doubts that always seem to come with the incessant pounding of a hard, cold rain and the seeping of the world in grey.

The rain is so, so beautiful.