After the Rain

We have gotten quite used to saying "we need rain" over the last few weeks of a very dry , sunny and hot summer. This morning I woke to the sun , cooler temperatures and puddles. Yesterday's rain was steady and gave the ground a good soaking. Sitting here this morning I think of all the petitions and prayers we make. I think of the energy we put into worrying and wanting things to be different, to be the way we want them, when we want them and how we are sometimes unable or unwilling to see the blessings we are given when they come. As people entered the market yesterday dripping wet I heard lots of grumbling indicating that the rain we so needed came at an inconvenient time or day.It is so human to want something so badly but be unhappy with the timing or the delivery of exactly what we wanted.We are struggling as a family to know the right course of action to accommodate Mom's declining health and Dad's exhaustion in caring for her. We want things to fall into place at just the right time. We flounder a bit wanting things to be the way they were. As Dad approaches his 70th wedding anniversary he feels the sorrow of what he has lost and the wife he has loved who ,because of her disease, is now so far from his grasp. He feels the pain of letting her go and giving her care over to someone else.We have prayed for this rain and now we must embrace it and be thankful for it.