Many a man curses the rain that falls upon his head, and knows not that it brings abundance to drive away the hunger.

– Saint Basil

I’m feeling pretty smug today!  Yesterday I had to make a decision about mowing the lawn.  Should I believe the weather forecast and interrupt my plans in order to cut the grass, or should I risk waiting until today and maybe find myself rained out.  When I awoke to the sound of raindrops on my window this morning, I lay in bed and thought about how different my perspective might be if I had decided to wait one more day to do my yard work.  Had I put off the mowing, I might be cursing the rain this morning and worrying about how tall the grass might be by the time it was dry enough to cut it.  I don’t like the extra work of what I call “harvesting” the lawn; and if I had procrastinated, I would likely be wishing the rain away.

Instead, my mind is flooded with thoughts of the lawn becoming thicker and softer and greener as it drinks in the blessed rain.  I think of the squash seedlings that finally made their way to the surface of the garden only yesterday.  I can close my eyes and almost hear them growing; and I can taste the tender yellow squash, cooked to perfection on the grill this summer.

The pansies in the planter outside my back door stand sturdy and strong as their roots drink in the rain that flows down their petals and lands in the soil below.

Isn’t it amazing how all of this works?  The rain falls on the plants.  The plants grow, nourished by the rain; and plants need carbon dioxide for survival.  They take the waste product of our own breathing process and use it for sustenance, and in exchange they release the oxygen we breathe.  As the water in the ground evaporates, it hangs in the atmosphere until the combination of moisture and cooling causes condensation and forms clouds.  We all know what happens when the clouds become to heavy with moisture — more rain!  And the cycle begins again.  Of all the cycles and seasons of our world that sustain us and teach cooperation, today I would like to celebrate the Water Cycle.

Let’s never curse the life-giving rain; but give thanks for the way it brings freshness, growth, and renewal to our lives.  Let’s care for the water that covers 70% of our planet and do our part to keep the cycle clean and filled with the abundance the rain brings to our world.