Smile, it Rained

I know this is old news, all of a week, but I took this picture for a reason. See, it rained here last Tuesday, which was also election day, you might remember. This is the first time since we've been here (July 28) that it's really rained. There have been 2 or 3 times where it barely drizzled and I had to turn on my wipers for a few swipes. But on Tuesday, it rained for a couple of hours. This is significant. I wanted to dance, and I could almost sense that in others, too. You know the old saying, "you don't realize how much you miss something until it's gone"? Well, it is definitely true of rain. There's this water allocation processs over here and southern California petitions whatever water agency makes these important decisions for their share of water that's allowed to come down here. There was an article in the paper about how if rainfall doesn't exceed expectations this winter that San Diego will get only 15% of what they petitioned the agency for. Fifteen percent. I know flooded St. Louis finds that hard to imagine. That means farmers will not plant and water will be rationed, said Governor Arnold. Not something anyone is looking forward to, I'm sure. So, with it also being election day, I smiled contentedly and told my friends at bible study how it felt like a true, autumn election day back in the midwest. One lady cocked her head sideways and asked, "Really?" I smiled and put on my education hat, feeling sorry for all these people that have never experienced a chilly, rainy, fall day, and explained, to amazed learners, how it typically rains in November in the midwest, and it can actually be dreary and cloudy for an entire day or three and how newspeople always wonder if the weather will affect voter turnout. In a spiritual sense, rain is usually the metaphor for blessings, which also made me smile. Pour out more, Lord!