I was very hopeful but also a little skeptical when I saw those clouds because while other areas of the country have been troubled with flooding, we haven't seen a drop of rain for months. This drought has not only made conditions miserable for the people, but my plants were beginning to suffer too. And in Natchitoches, where our Lake House is located, the river has been shut down due to these severe conditions. So, thinking that perhaps this was only a "tease", I took advantage of the fact that the sun wasn't boiling the skin off of my body yet and started my run.
As I was running, I found that this "gift" of an overcast sky was quite nice; I wasn't sweating nearly as bad as I normally do. THEN, I heard it. What WAS that sound? I had heard it before...was it thunder? OK, I was getting a LITTLE more hopeful now, but we had also been teased with the sounds of thunder and no rain in the past. I would just continue running for a while longer. Turning up another street to stretch my session out a bit, I felt it...drops coming from the sky! Was it REALLY going to rain? I stopped and just stood there for a moment in the middle of the street as those drops got a little bigger and fell a little faster. OK...so, It was kinda like one of those movies where the person holds their arms out and head up and just lets the rain beat down on them. THAT'S when I came to my senses...I dont' really like to get rained on! And I still had a ways to go before I got home. I picked up my pace and pushed back home quickly.
Once inside the safety of my house, I could enjoy this little performance of nature. The thunder continued, while the lightening joined in and raindrops began to form sheets of rain. I LOVED those sounds that had been lost for so long. The rain continued to POUR all day and as it did, those 100 degree temperatures dropped to the 70's. Then it hit me...today was "officially" the 1st day of summer. What a WONDERFUL way to enter this new season here in the south!
As I awoke this morning, I could hear that thunder again and then the patter of raindrops outside my window. Peeking from one of my closed eyes, I could see through the bedroom shutters that the skies were dark and cloudy again. That's when I made my plan for the day... where this additional gift of rain was going to be bestowed on us by God. I snuggled deeply back down into my bed covers, shut my eyes and thought about all the possibilities of how I could enjoy this rainy day at home...
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