I hope you are asking, “What is over sixteen inches?” The pile of papers I need to grade? (I did get behind this weekend, but it’s not quite that tall yet). Added hair length since I’ve been here? (Possible, but measuring hair is such a tricky thing). One dimension of paper for your copy machine? (What? You know about different-sized paper for different parts of the world? The dimensions are different, but not that different in this case). The commute from my house to work? (It’s short, but not that short). The length of the gecko staring me down? (Again, possible, but measuring geckos is even trickier than hair).
Rainfall for the month of January? Ding, ding, ding, you got it! That’s right; we had over sixteen inches of rain last month. I eagerly listened for the rain each day and never tired of it. Remember, it rained less than six inches in all of 2011 in my West Texas home. Each afternoon I smiled as I saw the clouds gather over the nearby mountains and loved that I would need an umbrella for the walk at the end of the day. I cherished getting to go to sleep to the sound of rain hitting the tin roof; that is an especially sweet sound to my ears. Market (which takes place on a grassy patch of land by the road) got a bit messy, but rain boots and plastic bags made it do-able.
There are lots of things around center affected by such an amount of rain. For example, the playground is currently closed as a better-suited drainage ditch is dug.
We get some pretty fantastic water flows.
And there are always fun games to be played on the water-logged field.
I suspect rain means much to me partly because of the dry land I came from, but also because it is such a tangible reminder of God’s character to me. God’s providence is in the life that abounds when it rains. I get to see it in the green that surrounds me and the food that grows so abundantly. Rivers flow with might and beauty, representing the power of God. Sure things might get muddy, but I do believe that is sometimes what God’s plan looks like for us too. As rainy season continues, I am also continuing an effort to notice and enjoy all of it.
Amber Calhoun says
I have to agree with you about appreciating rain. When you live in extreme drought you come to appreciate even a little moisture in the air. I cannot begin to imagine the joy that comes from an abundance of rain. When it rains I think of an email I once read about a young child that had been extremely premature and was unable to be held by her parents for many weeks. Years later she was sitting outside at a ball game with her mom as storm clouds rolled in and as she sniffed the air she smells that smell we all know is in the air right before a big rain. She looks at her mom and says that is what God smelled like as he held her in the hospital when she was in NICU. Having read several different versions of this story I’m not entirely sure if it is true or not but nontheless I have a very similar view of the smell of rain. It reminds me of My God and His loving hand that provides for us.