Its Raining Its Pouring...

I LOVE RAIN! I really do. Growing up, that's the thing we always prayed for and never got...except occasionally in the spring. It's always been one of my favorite parts of spring, and makes me believe -Even if for just a moment- that this year is going to be good. This is the year we are going to get the moisture we need. This is our year. It's funny how life in a ranching/farming community makes you love water. Well, even though I have grown up and move away from dry, desert, southeastern Utah I still get excited by the rain. It really struck me as funny when we moved here how often it rains in comparison to where we came from, yet every prayer that was said by the people here included "Please bless us with moisture we need to withstand this drought." To me, it was constantly raining-really, at least four or five days a month, and it seemed crazy that people would pray for more of what they already had in excess. But, when it would rain we would run outside and dance around in it, and float "boats" down the water running in the gutters. (Seriously, they had enough rain that it actually RAN IN THE GUTTERS instead of being instantly sucked into the dry, hot ground! Can you imagine?:) Anyway, it took a while for me to realize that to the people here they really are going through a draught, and they needed rain. When I took the time to get to know the people, and how much rain affected their lives I too started really praying for rain. (I had never stopped saying it, when you pray for something ever day and night for 25 years you don't give that up overnight, but I started really meaning it when I said it.) Anyway, today it is pouring, and I am loving it! Adia and I rode bikes to the park and for the first time in weeks we had the whole playground to ourselves. We danced around in the front yard, and got thoroughly soaked. We got a lot of strange looks, as usual, from people driving by, but we loved it. I hope that an appreciation and love for something as simple but important as moisture will stick with my kids forever. I hope that they will always find joy in the simple things and never stop dancing in the rain...