Living in a beautiful part of rural America, there is always something that comes up that has to be done. A broken fence, a fallen tree, grass growing faster than it can be mowed, and on and on and on.
And yesterday was one of those days. It was hot. As Matthew Broderick the actor says in the movie version of Simon's Biloxi Blues, "It's Africa hot."
So I was up early to go for farm supplies, got home and unloaded them and then got busy mowing. Spending a cool respite in the worst of the heat of the day inside, I went back out mid afternoon and finished my cutting. Then I pruned bushes, fed the horses and was surprised by the sudden thunderclap behind me. Looking back, a huge thunderstorm was heading in, so I hunkered down on the porch with a glass of iced tea to let the storm roll by.
It was beautiful yet violent at the same time. The swirling front line of clouds approached and with their arrival the wind picked up and the tall pines started swaying wildly. All the sounds of the forest disappeared; all living things were in the hiding mode staying clear of the storm.
The thunder became louder and lightning started to fill the sky, jagged bright bolts from cloud to cloud as well as from cloud to ground. One strike was just over the tree line and I thought had the ground not been wet surely a fire would erupt. My dogs all huddled near me, even the big ones. The Dane and the Pyrenees hate thunder and lightning.
Then the rain hit, starting in small drops but rapidly turning into hard driving sheets which minimized visibility and day almost became night as the black clouds flew by. It was raining buckets and in twenty minutes large puddles formed and the drainage ditch down the field was overflowing.
Then, just as quickly as it began it started to taper off and the sun began to peek through. Looking to the east I could see the beginning of a rainbow, reminding me of God's promise to Noah at the conclusion of the Great Flood. And as the sun fully appeared, the birds began to sing again and a family of deer entered the meadow from the deep forest. A large flock of turkeys appeared as well.
Watching all of this, the violence and the beauty, I realized again just how insignificant each of us is in the midst of the vast natural world around me that God created. But I also remembered that since I am one of God's children, I am important, for God loves me and He wants me to live for Him and eventually join Him in His Kingdom. And it made me exceedingly glad that I am who I am where I am here on earth.
I hope others of you will take the time to witness nature in just this way when you have a chance. Smelling the roses and experiencing the real world around us is so important and so inspiring. And it puts things in such a great perspective as we have to live our lives in this crazy, yet wonderful, world.
God bless you each and every one.
And yesterday was one of those days. It was hot. As Matthew Broderick the actor says in the movie version of Simon's Biloxi Blues, "It's Africa hot."
So I was up early to go for farm supplies, got home and unloaded them and then got busy mowing. Spending a cool respite in the worst of the heat of the day inside, I went back out mid afternoon and finished my cutting. Then I pruned bushes, fed the horses and was surprised by the sudden thunderclap behind me. Looking back, a huge thunderstorm was heading in, so I hunkered down on the porch with a glass of iced tea to let the storm roll by.
It was beautiful yet violent at the same time. The swirling front line of clouds approached and with their arrival the wind picked up and the tall pines started swaying wildly. All the sounds of the forest disappeared; all living things were in the hiding mode staying clear of the storm.
The thunder became louder and lightning started to fill the sky, jagged bright bolts from cloud to cloud as well as from cloud to ground. One strike was just over the tree line and I thought had the ground not been wet surely a fire would erupt. My dogs all huddled near me, even the big ones. The Dane and the Pyrenees hate thunder and lightning.
Then the rain hit, starting in small drops but rapidly turning into hard driving sheets which minimized visibility and day almost became night as the black clouds flew by. It was raining buckets and in twenty minutes large puddles formed and the drainage ditch down the field was overflowing.
Then, just as quickly as it began it started to taper off and the sun began to peek through. Looking to the east I could see the beginning of a rainbow, reminding me of God's promise to Noah at the conclusion of the Great Flood. And as the sun fully appeared, the birds began to sing again and a family of deer entered the meadow from the deep forest. A large flock of turkeys appeared as well.
Watching all of this, the violence and the beauty, I realized again just how insignificant each of us is in the midst of the vast natural world around me that God created. But I also remembered that since I am one of God's children, I am important, for God loves me and He wants me to live for Him and eventually join Him in His Kingdom. And it made me exceedingly glad that I am who I am where I am here on earth.
I hope others of you will take the time to witness nature in just this way when you have a chance. Smelling the roses and experiencing the real world around us is so important and so inspiring. And it puts things in such a great perspective as we have to live our lives in this crazy, yet wonderful, world.
God bless you each and every one.
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