The Well Will Not Run Dry

Welcome to where it rains every day, and it's balmy and green-the tropical rain forest in...Dallas? It has been pouring here for days.  Today (Sunday) is the first day since Tuesday that the heavens weren't blessing this dry and barren land with mucho agua.  I'm sure the area needed it badly, and I like the atmosphere of a stormy day.  I like the swirly gray sky, the dark yet bright green of the grass and trees, the sound the wind makes blowing through leaves, the growling thunder, and the way the lightning suddenly flashes, brightening the room for a second or two; I like listening to the rain on the roof, rolling down the sides of the house, pattering against the windowpanes; I like watching the kids color quietly as they listen to all the sounds of the storm, comfortable and safe in our home. Yesterday we were out and about just before a major thunderstorm passed through town.  When we arrived at our house, it was overcast, but it quickly went from slightly cloudy to dark as night-it was 3:00 in the afternoon. While storms outside wreak havoc and leave disasters behind, they are also the cause of great disasters inside... Actually, the kids were very good and had a great time "inventing." I'm not sure what new stuff they came up with, except a new mess to clean up.   You would have thought someone shot a duck in the living room; feathers were everywhere. After that initial darkness came the torrents of rain. So much water came down in a matter of minutes that the cars driving by crashed through giant puddles and sent enormous waves up their sides. The rain and the low light that comes from the hiding sun make such beautiful greens. The thunder carried on for quite a while, and once it was so loud I jumped in my seat.  Eliana would run over and say,"Boom, boom!"  She didn't know whether to laugh or be scared.  She did fine, though. Sometimes we wish the rain would go away, especially if kids are involved and everyone is stuck inside all day (or several days!).  I know it's hard for me to come up with organized and productive things for the kids to do (which is why they drag a whole bunch of crafty materials out and glue feathers and glitter all over fingerpainted paper) and often there is the distinct and imminent possibility of mutiny.  Yesterday happened to be a good day, without a great deal of fussing or boredom.  It was a chance to be quiet and busy, an opportunity to be together even though we had no specific agenda.  And the rains came to nourish the earth and give life.  In Deuteronomy 32, verse 2 says,"Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants."  I'm taking this moment to listen to the reminder that I need that life-giving nourishment that comes from above, the teaching that we have so available that it pours down like rain and showers us in abundance.  I should never complain that I am thirsty; if I am it is because I am sitting on my bucket next to the well, wondering how I'm going to get that water out.