REAL Rain!

 REAL Rain!

 

Praise God! We are getting our first day-long rain. Of course, we are also getting lots of thunder and lightning, so Sylvia REALLY wants in my lap. It’s a bit hard to type like that, however. So, at the moment she is slobbering on my knee with her chin. Have my rain boots in the kitchen waiting for me to try again to go out to the hen house. Last time it was cracking a bit out there and then coming down a small downpour. Not griping, understand. We need every drop of this moisture.

 

Was thinking about something today that made me need to do some research in the Bible. You probably realize that King Saul was suffering from depression that was somewhat alleviated by the music that David played. Yep, music sometimes lifts us up and takes the focus off our problems. Now, Elijah was another example of someone who did all that God asked of him and yet still had problems with depression. First, he was exhausted physically by all that he had done and the circumstances in which he did those things. First, he saw the miracles given to him by God—preventing the fall of rain, making oil and flour last for himself, the widow and her son, raising the son from the dead! But then he had to prove that God was greater than the gods of the heathen people around him. Facing off false prophets after building an altar, seeing the repentance of the people, running ahead of Ahab, and then running and walking 40 miles into the wilderness. Elijah was, after all is said and done, still just a man. He had physical, emotional, and mental needs. He needed to rest his body, feed it, and believe that God was taking care of him, and then he needed to be reassured that he was doing what he needed to do because he was NOT alone. God had to reassure him that a hundred other prophets lived and that 7000 still prayed to God. He could not be left to believe that he was alone! If we as individuals sometimes get down and depressed, it might do us some good to see that even the mighty prophets were susceptible to depression. And God will not leave us to be alone either. We might have to find someone to help us lift our eyes beyond our present circumstances; we might need to see that the horrors around the world are not the end times yet; we might need someone to remind us that we will be as our savior was—raised from the dead to eternal life with God. If your life looks a bit dreary and gray at the moment, look beyond the day, beyond the circumstances, and lift your eyes to see the sunsets, the sunrises, the birds in song, the new life showing us the cycles of life. And never judge the one who falls down in depression and sadness. It can happen to any of us.

 

Don’t think any of the wild birds will be trying to bathe in the chicken water bowls today! It is only 53 degrees out there! A bit warmer here in the house, but still pretty cool. The ceiling fans are definitely not needed at the moment. The thunder shirts are also keeping the doggos warmer. My long-sleeved shirt is currently working pretty well for me. Now if the thunder stops rumbling . . .Guess it is unnecessary to gripe since we are getting this wonderful rain.

 

The poppies are looking good out front. And the bluebonnets are gleams of blue out there as well. Just wonderful! It is not like having the front flower bed a solid sheet of beauty, but what we get is good enough!

 

Forgive my “sermon” of today. Sometimes things make me realize that mankind has not really changed all that much no matter how “advanced” we might seem to ourselves. Yes, we wash our hands and try to stay “clean” to prevent diseases and germs that cause problems. Yet at the same time we have allowed pictures of horrible events to take our minds away from what is good, happy, sincere, and pure. My mom used to remind me when things were bothering me to “remember to think on these things—whatsoever is good, pure, or of good report.” And what do you see on TV or the internet? Is it good, pure, or of good report? Well, Sterling reminded me that these things will happen now and maybe for a time to come before God lets the end begin of this world and the evil that is in it.

 

Rest and remember: you are loved.