summer rain

oooohhh how i love summer rain. actually, i love rain in general. for the most part. i mean, i guess i'm not a huge fan when i am getting soaked because my sweet little darlings are being extra...how shall i say....not-so-quick to get into the car during one of these times.....but overall i have always enjoyed being a part of rain. there is something very cleansing about it. i looove curling up and watching a movie and taking a nap in the winter time when it is raining. (or at least i did before i had children and i will enjoy that again in roughly 17 years)

but, summer rain....that, is special. i think what i love most about it, is that it surprises you. where i am from and have lived my entire life...summer equals hot. h - o - t - hot. and i don't mean hot, like, oh gee, maybe we should wear shorts today and get a cold beverage kind of hot....i mean....good Lord, i just peeled off a layer of skin getting out off the pleather couch, and the AC is on 64 degrees... kind of hot...and that is at 9am. i could not be prouder to be a texan and love where i live, but one of the realities is that we only have two seasons. summer and 'bout to be summer. and as if that's not bad enough, summer begins in late february and ends in early november, of which, the good majority of that time (i.e. may, june, july and august) you can pretty much bet that it will hit 95 degrees before your breakfast has even settled in your belly. so....if God blesses us with summer rain, we welcome it with open arms....or at least i do.

i have been known to literally walked out in it and turn my face up to God and let Him just rain all over me. sometimes i feel i just need a good rinsing off. literal and figurative. sometimes i feel hotter than a hornet. sometimes i just feel so blessed to get to share in a summer rain. it is special. for the most part, it only happens a handful of times where i live...so when it does, you soak it up and thank God for it. it is kind of like a cool, wet surprise party from God because you often can't see it coming. skies are blue. the thermometer gives you no inkling that it will dip below triple digits any time soon, and then all of a sudden, drip....drip....drip. ahhhhh.......

and i looooove surprise parties. i want to throw them for anyone and everyone i love. i don't even have to know you that well, and i'd be up for it! i've thrown them (or at least helped) for my dad, mom, step-mom, brother, husband (much to his displeasure- he's not big on being the focus of attention! but he still loves me :) and lots of other family and friends...i love them!!! and for years and years i used to tease those around me, especially my sweet hubby, that i love surprise parties sooo much and here i was, i couldn't get someone to throw me a surprise party. well, my amazing husband did it. he got me good. he, along with my family and amazing church friends, put together a great one....for my 30th birthday. they got me good. now....it was very uncool that i was about 8 months pregnant with baby #3 and so i was HUGE and waddling all over the place in all the pictures, but i guess that's what i get for whining like a baby all those years about wanting a surprise party for myself. justice was served. :)

but, i really do feel the same way about summer rain. the surprise of it is such a joy to me. another part of it i just love about summer rain is the smell. it has such a distinct smell that you never get any other time of the year. it is almost like the air is just as surprised at the new arrival of moisture as i am, and that sudden cool friend doesn't know what to do with the heat around it. but the two of them together make such a sweet aroma. do you know what i mean? i wish i could bottle it up...because to me, it represents that moment....that surprise of summer rain. that unexpected relief from the heat that is our world.

right now, it is the end of june. it has been super hot for weeks now. and it has rained almost non-stop for the last day and a half. i love it. yes, everything is muddy. yes, my kids and crabby because they can't swim anytime they want to because of the "big lightning and thunder". but....ooh that smell. that coolness it brings. there is nothing like that.

i cannot help but thank God for this unexpected surprise. i cannot help but tell Him that i appreciate that He knows when....exactly when we need a little of this unexpected joy in our lives. sometimes....actually, waaay more that sometimes...... i need to really stop and think of these "summer rain" type moments that He gives me so often. so very often.

a dear friend who sends us a gift card that i get in the mail, JUST in time to bless us greatly with our grocery budget at the end of the month.

a compliment from my man that comes just when i feel i could not gain one more pound and be cute at all.

a loved one who texts you just to say how special you are to them.

a friend who tells you how God used you (yes, YOU!) to bless their life during a hard time!

a verse that comes to mind at just the right time when you need to hear truth and not the junky thoughts in your head.

turning on the radio and hearing that song that lifts your spirits high, or makes you smile, or makes you wanna jump up and praise!

the nurse squealing, "it's a girl!!", when we already have two boys, and ryan and i screaming "are you sure!?!" at the same time and then bursting into joyful tears!

driving along on a hot summer day and then all of a sudden...drip....drip....drip

God cares about every single part of your life and my life. He knows you better than you know you. He knows me better than i know me. and the shocking thing is, He still loves us. i am so very thankful for so many things. i do not STOP what i am stinking doing and thank Him enough. for big things i usually remember, but not always. for small things, i sometimes remember, but not often. for seemingly tiny things....i often just blow right by. but tonight, i am so thankful for summer rain. for the memories it brings to mind of places so dear...of my sweet hubby....of the Christian camp i worked at for years and loved so dear....of playing in the rain just today with my kiddos...... thank you God for these ways that you bring blessing into my life. thank you that you love me so much that you want to bless me. thank you for the many, many ways you bring joy, especially unexpected joy to my life. give me eyes to see it Lord and the mind to give you thanks for it, for i know ALL good things come from you!!! (James 1:17)

now friends, in the spirit of full honesty....i will admit that i began this post sitting on my back porch, which i LOVE, listening and soaking up that summer rain that i just spent all this time speaking of....i mean, what better place to write about this, right? but..... that didn't last long. and, that didn't last long, because, along with summer rain......especially summer night rain....comes summer bugs, lots of them, and they all bite me....and i do not love them at all. :) so, i am indoors now, in my air conditioning and in my recliner admiring the sound of the summer rain on my windows. just keeping it real here, people. just keeping it real. :)
ps. a spider just crawled across the arm of the recliner. i am not kidding. i am going to bed now. that is a sign. :) good night. :)