Rain

      Parts of our area received over 2 inches of rain on Saturday!  What a relief!  Unfortunately for us we weren't in the part that received that much, but we did get over 1/2 inch.  We are grateful for every drop and are praying for more.
      I have been thinking much about this incessant heat and drought and the analogies that can be made about our spiritual lives.  I know the Bible says that God is our shade and that as He is, so are we to be. Isn't it amazing how refreshing shade from the relentless heat of the sun can be?  It makes working outside tolerable if I can work in the shade, or at least spend some time there.  I've been thinking about what it means to be shade to others.  If I can bring a little refreshment to them through my words and actions so they can endure the trials they are experiencing, isn't that being shade?  Often helping others to see a new perspective on their situation is enough to bring great relief to their parched souls.
      Sometimes I feel so dry and thirsty in my relationship with the Lord that I can identify with the plants in this drought.  They're just holding on--not flourishing, not producing fruit, only waiting for refreshment, barely living.  But just as when rain comes to my plants and they are revived--flowers bloom, leaves perk up, the grass becomes green again--so do I when spiritual rain comes to me.  Both the land and I need that refreshing rain.
     That is my prayer.  "Lord, please send rain for the land and rain for our thirsty souls."