Seasons are interesting. This past winter we had an awful lot of rain. I just couldn't stand it after a while. We were becoming cramped within the house. Too much time together. We attempted to go outside but the rain kept sending us back. Rain isn't terrible. But cold rain is the worst thing ever. I'd rather it just snow. Down here, though, the April showers that bring May flowers is not a fun rhyme. It is life.
Since then it has seemed close to dry. I have loved it. A rain storm of summer capacity is beautiful. It comes in with fury of the heat and then dissipates as if evaporating as quickly as it came. I love a good summer thunderstorm. This week we have had some rain. It looked ready to rain and I felt it in the air. It did, in fact, open up to shower. I walked out to get the mail and was hit with a cloud of humidity so thick my chest hurt. I went back in the house. It rained again. The next time I stepped outside, the rain had taken away the humidity. *happy sigh* The only time I do not welcome rain on hot days is when I am working at the farmer's market. Books plus rain equals damaged products. Typically, though, I enjoy the rain because they are just quick bursts of rain that dry up quickly. Even if it rains every day, I know we aren't in the season of continue precipitation. Here we are getting our first look at the summer heat that will inundate us and oppress us. And sure enough the rain is coming in. But in South Carolina, there is no reason to check the forecast. It's hot. It's humid. There is always at minimum at 20% chance of rain. Last night my husband asked if I was sleeping in today. See, Thursday is the only day in my schedule that I am allowed to sleep later than 5:00 and not lose out on something, like my workout. I told him I was not sleeping in, that I needed to get my stuff done before the children were awake . You know, before life wakes up. Well, my alarm went off. I turned it off. As I grumbled in disgust of how quickly the morning had come, I heard the rain. Oh man. My mind raced. I could get up and read while on the elliptical. Kill two birds with one stone mentality. Yes, that willll zzzzz..... Oops. I fell back asleep in the hum of the drops of rain. Well, I ended up getting up at 6:00. The rain had passed. I hopped up and got going on my day. I went outside to workout. Yes, a nice day. A little cooler from the morning's rain. I finished my strength training and went out to run. Less then one tenth of a mile some sprinkles came. I don't mind running in the rain, but I usually prefer to wear a visor to keep the drops from my eyes. I went back and forth, do I loop and grab my visor or keep going. I kept going. It sprinkled lightly until it cleared yet again less than half a mile in. Ah. Excellent. However before the first mile was completed, it began again. This time a little heavier than a spritzing. Ugh. At this point I got a little blah. I spent many fall and winter mornings running in the rain. One week it rained every morning of my running schedule. My shoes were beginning to stink of the wetness and my sweat. Nothing would dry. This morning that was all I could think about. There was that one morning that a car refused to go around me and forced me to run through the 3 inch deep puddle. My head began to go to blah. So I went back to my prayer time with a crappy attitude. "Seriously, God? More rain? I'm so tired of running in rain." But I was put in my place quickly. This time the rain didn't feel like it would freeze on my nose. This rain didn't bring the humidity. This rain wasn't hurtful. This rain was refreshing. Sometimes we forget that rain is sent to refresh. The rain makes the vegetables grow. The rain brings beautiful flowers. The rain is not a bad thing. The rain refreshed my body and my spirit as I ran. And my running was more efficient than it has been in weeks. We are sent so many things that we have had to deal with in not the best ways. So what do we do, we assume the worst. Children are a blessing. But so often we are so worn from the care taking, teaching, guiding, disciplining, playing, and whatever else that we forget our blessing. We own homes. We care for the homes. We are tired of cleaning, mowing, dusting, gardening, and on. But do we stop in the middle of cleaning our home to thank God for home? Over and over God gives and blesses and we can only see the negative. We forget to find the good. We love the summer rain because it breaks up the heat or because we love thunderstorms, but the continual rain of March and April becomes dreary and we forget the good it does for the land. Let's challenge ourselves to be thankful for the inconveniences that are truly blessings. I'll start. I'm thankful for my children that continually ask questions because that means they are so eager to learn and grow. I'm thankful that God sends rain after my son forgets to water his garden. I'm thankful for my home. I hate cleaning, but I'm thankful to have a place to clean. It's "too small" but has less to clean. We have too much which makes it feel smaller, but we have been blessed by so many that give so generously. I'm thankful for the pain that laces my body regularly. It keeps me humble and reminds me to rest. People often say that something was "a blessing in disguise." Maybe things aren't in disguise at all. Maybe it's just our perspective.
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May 2023
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