Rain

We had rain last night.

Large amounts of rain, pouring from the sky.  The sort of rain that one wishes we had all the time - not the immediate downpour which is here and then gone five minutes later but the longer rain that lasts all night (it will still spitting rain when I went outside at 0530 this morning.

We got the full show as well - wind, thunder, lightning, heavy rain and light rain - as we went through the evening.  And it was pretty consistently spread out as well - thunder was still passing through at 0400 this morning during one of my intermediate dozes through the night.

The final total was about 3.5 inches.  That is a stunning amount to me for rain that comes in an approximately 12 hour period.  Where I come from we measure it in inches over a day to two days, not in multiple inches in hours.  And it is badly needed where we are right now - the cracks have started to appear in my yard where grass is not covering them and we find ourselves already in watering restrictions (unheard of in May when we are supposedly coming out of one rainy season.

The most remarkable thing to me is that the rain here is not nearly as cold as it is where I come from (seeing as how the rain comes in summer) and so sitting out on the porch watching the rain can actually be an event.  I sat outside for a while last night as the rain poured down, watching the sheets pass along the street as the sky lit up with lightning and the trees danced.

This morning, of course, it is hard to tell we had that much rain:  the sidewalk is damp but not that damp with only receptacles able to demonstrate that a storm of such magnitude washed through last night.  And my memory, of course.

It is always good to take a moment to rejoice in the simple things that God provides through nature.