Like many of you, I spent many autumn days glumly staring out the window at dreary, rainy weather. I don't think I can remember a wetter fall! Our leaves turn and fall sooner than most places and there's nothing like a hard rain to bring them down even quicker. Add to that the blustery winds which have buffeted our little house on the prairie and you've got bare-naked trees in no time! But as I watched the gray sheets of rain folding down out of the heavens, I realized what a blessings it is. It's crucial that the trees have abundant rain just before resting for the winter. It gives them such a good start in the spring. It's not the beautiful bridal lace of snow that replenishes the water table. No, it's the drab blue collar rains of November that fill our wells and irrigation ponds for the future growing season.
"Truth springs from the earth, And righteousness looks down from heaven. Indeed, the LORD will give what is good, And our land will yield its produce." Psalm 85:10-12
God knows what is necessary and He provides it in spite of our petulant wishes. Now I can look outside and see the fresh, new green of a winter crop covering the potato fields like a Christmas chia pet. Flocks of starlings happily dig for worms, thankful for a reprieve from early winter. I'm certainly grateful to have mild weather while I'm hanging the outdoor Christmas lights! What a blessing to be able to travel to the chiropractor, the store or the bank without anxiously watching the skies for a sudden blizzard!
Rest assured, winter will be along soon enough. Once again I'll sit at the window mesmerized by the silent flakes making muffled marshmallows of every feature in the yard. Then we'll cancel our travel plans for the day and settle in for winter's rest. Until then, I'll anticipate lush gardens springing forth from this abundance of rain. God is soooooooo good!!
"He sends forth springs in the valleys; They flow between the mountains; They give drink to every beast of the field; The wild donkeys quench their thirst. Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; They lift up their voices among the branches. He waters the mountains from His upper chambers; The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works. He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the labor of man, So that he may bring forth food from the earth, And wine which makes man’s heart glad, that he may make his face glisten with oil, And food which sustains man’s heart. The trees of the LORD drink their fill, The cedars of Lebanon which He planted, Where the birds build their nests, And the stork, whose home is the fir trees." Psalm 104:16ff
Love as always, Elaine (singing His praises in the rain)
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