Rain! It came accompanied by a tornado warning and a huge red blob across the TV screen headed in the direction of Rockport. I picked a place for Ann and I to seek cover. I placed pillows in a small cubbyhole in the bathroom. We never had to use it. Then the rains came! They were wonderful. I wanted to go out and dance in it, but I didn't know how to dance. It was BIG drops, not the little wimpy kind we had had of late. It was the first real good rain in months. I didn't know I could miss rain so much. My tomatoes are tapping. The squash is smiling. The peppers are prancing. The grapefruit is...well it is grapefruiting. This was a blessing from the heavens and I thank the Lord for the rain.
Isn't it interesting and puzzling that folks in the northern states are feeling the opposite about rain. They don't want or need any more. Snow is melting and floods from massive snowfalls are sweeping through their lands, destroying farms and homes. What is one person's curse is another person's blessing. So it is in life. Some today would like to have a few days off from their strenuous work. A neighbor has every day off with no work or hope for work. A hunter stalks the deer and enjoys the sight of a beautiful buck. A gardener is not so excited as a hungry buck gobbles up his beautiful flowers. A man rides around in his ancient auto of the sixties and feels pride. A single mother rides in her eighties clunker and prays it will make one more trip to work.
The Apostle Paul reflected on such events. Listen to him: " I know what it is to be in need. I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4: 12-13. How about that for the way to handle the goods and the bads of life? He had learned a secret. We can learn it also.
