There’s a saying that came to mind as I frantically Googled “deep-breathing exercises” today while sitting in a shady parking lot in the middle of Minnesota. The phrase that most described my frustrated feelings was, “When it rains, it pours.”

By my fourth breathing exercise, I finally calmed down, and tried to focus on the current situation at hand: how to get back to home sweet home. After a morning of one misfortune event after another, both my mother and I found ourselves with headaches and a strong craving for a shot of espresso/ a nap.

God seems to enjoy testing my patience lately, and I have been praying for more of it. And today, after a rain delay (an athlete’s two most dreaded words), losing the car keys, turning around to waste an hour backtracking, realizing we threw the keys away at a grocery store, and then proceeding to follow the map half an hour to the wrong grocery store, I was in a state of turmoil to say the least. Once my mom (who was equally as flustered) hopped out of the car to retrieve the precious keys, I let it all out.

I was upside down with frustration, and all the things we could have done differently so we didn’t wind up wasting all that time. If only we would have planned accordingly; if only we hadn’t held the keys in the same hand as the garbage; if only we hadn’t started the directions without paying attention to the end destination. If only, if only, if only.

And then it hit me: this incredibly irritating morning was meant to happen, no matter what we intended.

On day’s like this, it’s best to just let the reigns slip from your fingers, and go with the flow. Even if that flow happens to be a flood from the torrential downpour of troubles. The more we tiny, insignificant humans try to control our day, the more control we lose.

Now, as we are cruising down the interstate less than an hour from home, I can look back and laugh at the morning we dealt with. Just remember, “When it rains, it pours.” But at the end of the storm is when the sun shines the brightest.

Best wishes,

Maddie Rheinheimer