Rainy days

I LOVE rainy days. I love following asleep to the sound of rain falling outside my window, I love the sound of thunder rolling through the clouds, and the way the lightening brightens up my dark room. I even love being woken up in the middle of the night due to a sudden burst of thunder that shakes me from my sleep, I imagine the powerful blast of sound is just God reminding me that He is there, always there, and more important then even my sleep. I also love waking up and stepping outside to a new, clean world. There is something about the way everything looks after a storm. It amazes me how durable the tiny, delicate flowers in my yard are. The rain poured down all throughout the night and the winds were at times strong yet this morning everything was still standing, and they were better because of the storm. I have watched my tomato and green pepper plants grow over an inch taller in just the past few weeks because of the storms.

My growth in Christ is much like that of my plants. Yes, I water them almost everyday and with that small amount of consistent water they grow, slow yet steady growth. However, when the storm came and the rain poured out of the sky, saturating the dirt surrounding my plants, the new growth was enormous. Just the other day my plants looked as though they would never get tall enough to produce anything, now I see the great potential for a summer filled with fresh tomatoes and peppers. In the same way God works in the life of my plants He works in me. Sure I grow when life is slow and steady, but as I have seen numerous times it is the storms of life that bring about the best, and most effective change in my life.

On a lighter note, my drive to work this morning was beautiful. The sky was filled with dark clouds as more rain moved in, the sun peaked out through the dark clouds and lit up portions of the sky. The trees and grass looked extra green as the rain washed away all the pollen from the air. The streets were washed clean and everything had a shiny, clean look. Then I pull into my parents driveway to grab a bit of breakfast and visit with dad before I head to the lot. As I look past the house to the pasture where my two beautiful horses graze I see a sight that makes me laugh. Most days when I pull into the drive I see my lovely, chestnut mare who has been with me since I was a young child grazing next to towering horse of my dreams who is normally a beautiful creamy, golden palomino.

Not today, no this morning as I look across the pasture, eyes searching for those two blessings that God has so graciously allowed me to care for, I see them both, however my once clean, and handsome palomino is no longer a palomino. Nope, he is completely covered, from head to tow in mud. In fact he is now darker then the mare who is supposed to be brown. I just sigh and laugh it off. He is after all a boy, and horse or human, boys will be boys. In the year that I have owned Romeo I have come to learn that he is much happier when covered in dirt. I'm pretty sure that if I let him he would stay that way for his entire life. He is too funny about his dirt. Whenever I go to groom him and he is covered in dirt I swear the horse sighs and hangs his head. He is so disappointed that all his hard work is about to be washed away. It used to frustrate me, now I have learned to accept and even love this part of his personality. After all it makes me take a little longer to groom him, which allows me to spend more time outside enjoying God's creation. Romeo makes me slow down, he is young and his training cannot be rushed. He loves attention, and I like to think that he gets dirty sometimes just to force me to take a few extra minutes with him... it works every time:)

There is something so peaceful about owning horses. My heart longs for the day when I am able to once again have them in my backyard, apart of my daily life. I love the sound of Dutch's dinner nicker, which lets me know that she must be fed right now, no questions asked, and if I don't hurry she will not forgive me (that is until she sees the bucket in my hand). I love to just sit and watch them graze, I can't tell you the number of hours I have spent just watching them. It is hard to find time to spend with them at this point in my life. There are many weeks like this one when days that would be perfect for riding are spent doing yard work so that I have the money to keep their bellies full. I have to tell myself that someday, very soon, this will change and I will have time for them. One day.... in God's timing, not mine.