A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Wal-Mart. She must have been 6-years-old, this beautiful red-haired, freckle-faced image of innocence1. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes2 over the top of rain gutters3, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout4. We all stood there under the awning5 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 mesmerized6 by rainfall. I got 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 came pouring in as a welcome reprieve7 from the worries of my day.
The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance 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 soaked if we do," Mom said.
"No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning," the young girl said as she tugged8 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 affirmation in a young child's life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured9 so that it will bloom into faith.
"Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If God let's us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing," Mom said.
Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted10 past the cars and, yes, through the puddles11. 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.
1 innocence
n.無(wú)罪；天真；無(wú)害
參考例句：
There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.這個(gè)男孩有一種令人感動(dòng)的天真神情。 The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人經(jīng)證實(shí)無(wú)罪。
2 gushes
n.涌出，迸發(fā)( gush的名詞復(fù)數(shù) )v.噴，涌( gush的第三人稱單數(shù) )；滔滔不絕地說(shuō)話
參考例句：
The stream gushes forth from the rock. 一股小溪從巖石中涌出來(lái)。 來(lái)自辭典例句 Fuel gushes into the combustion chamber. 燃料噴進(jìn)燃燒室。 來(lái)自辭典例句
3 gutters
（路邊）排水溝( gutter的名詞復(fù)數(shù) )； 陰溝； （屋頂?shù)模┨鞙希?貧賤的境地
參考例句：
Gutters lead the water into the ditch. 排水溝把水排到這條水溝里。 They were born, they grew up in the gutters. 他們生了下來(lái)，以后就在街頭長(zhǎng)大。
4 spout
v.噴出，涌出；滔滔不絕地講；n.噴管；水柱
參考例句：
Implication in folk wealth creativity and undertaking vigor spout.蘊(yùn)藏于民間的財(cái)富創(chuàng)造力和創(chuàng)業(yè)活力噴涌而出。 This acts as a spout to drain off water during a rainstorm.在暴風(fēng)雨季，這東西被用作噴管來(lái)排水。
5 awning
n.遮陽(yáng)篷；雨篷
參考例句：
A large green awning is set over the glass window to shelter against the sun.在玻璃窗上裝了個(gè)綠色的大遮棚以遮擋陽(yáng)光。 Several people herded under an awning to get out the shower.幾個(gè)人聚集在門(mén)柵下避陣雨
6 mesmerized
v.使入迷( mesmerize的過(guò)去式和過(guò)去分詞 )
參考例句：
The country girl stood by the road, mesmerized at the speed of cars racing past. 村姑站在路旁被疾駛而過(guò)的一輛輛車迷住了。 來(lái)自《現(xiàn)代英漢綜合大詞典》 My 14-year-old daughter was mesmerized by the movie Titanic. 我14歲的女兒完全被電影《泰坦尼克號(hào)》迷住了。 來(lái)自互聯(lián)網(wǎng)
7 reprieve
n.暫緩執(zhí)行（死刑）；v.緩期執(zhí)行；給…帶來(lái)緩解
參考例句：
He was saved from the gallows by a lastminute reprieve.最后一刻的緩刑令把他從絞架上解救了下來(lái)。 The railway line, due for closure, has been granted a six-month reprieve.本應(yīng)停運(yùn)的鐵路線獲準(zhǔn)多運(yùn)行6 個(gè)月。
8 tugged
v.用力拉，使勁拉，猛扯( tug的過(guò)去式和過(guò)去分詞 )
參考例句：
She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。 A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角帶一絲苦笑。 來(lái)自《簡(jiǎn)明英漢詞典》
9 nurtured
養(yǎng)育( nurture的過(guò)去式和過(guò)去分詞 )； 培育； 滋長(zhǎng)； 助長(zhǎng)
參考例句：
She is looking fondly at the plants he had nurtured. 她深情地看著他培育的植物。 Any latter-day Einstein would still be spotted and nurtured. 任何一個(gè)未來(lái)的愛(ài)因斯坦都會(huì)被發(fā)現(xiàn)并受到培養(yǎng)。
10 darted
v.投擲，投射( dart的過(guò)去式和過(guò)去分詞 )；向前沖，飛奔
參考例句：
The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌頭去吃小昆蟲(chóng)。 來(lái)自《簡(jiǎn)明英漢詞典》 The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高興了，瞪了我一眼。 來(lái)自《簡(jiǎn)明英漢詞典》
11 puddles
n.水坑， （尤指道路上的）雨水坑( puddle的名詞復(fù)數(shù) )
參考例句：
The puddles had coalesced into a small stream. 地面上水洼子里的水匯流成了一條小溪。 The road was filled with puddles from the rain. 雨后路面到處是一坑坑的積水。 來(lái)自《簡(jiǎn)明英漢詞典》
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