April Showers

"But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous" (Matthew 5:44-45 NIV).

It is raining again. We've had a week of gray skies and occasional thunder showers. Until last evening we really hadn't gotten much rain. But now the rain gauge is showing at least an inch so it is adding up. We need the rain for the trees and lawns and at some point for the fields, though this may not be the point the farmers would like. Things are beginning to turn green; the lawns and pastures are growing now. The buds are appearing on the trees and the tulips are popping through the ground. We didn't get a lot of moisture this winter so maybe the farmers won't mind if this delays their planting.

Spring rains are always welcome to wash away the grunge of winter and cleanse the air. Rainy days are appreciated for the blessing of moisture and the hope of revival of plants and trees. But the gray days that don't produce much in the way of rain could be skipped in my book. The cold wet chill isn't my favorite kind of day. I don't mind rainy days as much as gray days. Rainy days are productive. Gray days are not. You can use an umbrella on rainy days and the rain usually disburses the fog.

I like the rumble of thunder. It reminds me that God is near and I thank Him for being in control. As a child I was told thunder was a fruit wagon upset in heaven, or something like that anyway. And although it startled me when it appeared I wasn't so frightened of it. It was a comforting kind of imagination. Although I was terribly afraid of tornadoes when we lived in a mobile home, my fear of storms has decreased a lot since we have a basement to seek shelter in now.

Let us give thanks for the rain and the sun as we receive it.