“You heavens above, rain down my righteousness; let the clouds shower it down.  Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness flourish with it; I, the LORD, have created it.” Isaiah 45:8

To be honest, I’m about done with the drought of 2019.  A physical, real drought with less than a 1/2 inch of rain in over 4 months at our Central Texas farm. We have watched in wonder as the radar has shown rain heading our way on scores of occasions only to watch the green, yellow, and red floating clouds of radar-enhanced rain images dissipate before our very eyes, skirt our property, and reappear on the other side. Unbelievable. How was this geological event even possible? Did we have a force field around our property? Well, I’m thinking something even stronger than a force field was at work.

“He provides rain for the earth; he sends water on the countryside.” Job 5:10

God has allowed our family to experience a season of drought that is affecting every aspect of our lives. A geological drought. An emotional drought. A mental drought. A physical drought. A spiritual drought. A time of questioning, wondering, trusting, and waiting.

“Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain?  Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, LORD our God. Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this.” Jeremiah 14:22

To be honest, I am beginning to think that this was brought on by a spiritual drought in the hearts of our little family of five.  A time of disconnectedness and indifference towards the community formed by the Giver of all things. A time of lackadaisical attitudes towards the Very One who has provided so much for us in the past. We have all adopted an attitude of convenient Christianity in which we call upon His name only when we have time or an urgent need arises. We have allowed ourselves to become disconnected from our local churches and have been finding a myriad of reasons to support our decisions. Busyness is high up on our list.  We have failed to stay connected at church due to extreme busyness of full-time work and farming.  We have allowed complacency to settle in and allowed ourselves to find peace at home more than peace in the pew of our church.

Yes, The Outdoorsman and I definitely revere God and listen to His voice in all of our decisions, but we have not stepped up and made him the Lord of our everyday lives in a way that is tangible, evident, and palpable to those around us. We have adopted a casual attitude about serving him and honoring him in our choices.  We need to shower Him with our blessings.  We need to serve Him every day.  We need to honor Him with our time and attention.  We need to make sure that He is known to those who know us.

“May he be like rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth.” Psalm 72:6

Again today, I sit in my farmhouse and watch out the window gazing at our pond and waiting for signs of rain upon the wind-rippled water.  I spotted advancing rain on the radar and here I sit waiting for it to graze our property.  Drops of relief for us that become more and more symbolic as the days pass.  Waiting for the end of this most unpleasant season of life that has affected every person I love and hold dear in my immediate and extended family.  The unexpected death of my 24-year-old nephew, the draining, everyday struggles of close family members, the sudden death of my seemingly-healthy uncle, and the geological drought that has turned our farm to a virtual desert of dead, brown grass and dry, dusty wind.  I am peering out the window at our beautiful young cows and watch as they struggle to stay well-fed on the hay we are forced to offer to them prematurely in lieu of healthy, green grass in early October.

“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, ” Isaiah 55:10

I know that this drought will end.  This season of suffering.  This season of intense pain in the life of my family. We will all place our trust in Him who knows our needs and loves us more than anyone else could ever love us.  I have been in a drought before, but have never been in such a season of drought of all kinds.  Physical. Mental. Emotional. Spiritual. And even Geological.  It took a geological drought on our farm to help me see the extent of the drought in the other areas of my life.  It has been bleak, barren, depressing, ugly, unpleasant, hot, dry, weed-infested, colorless, and monotone. No words that evoke the beauty God desires for our everyday lives.  I am ready for “all things new” that will come with the end to this drought.  New joy. New hope. New levels of energy. New life on the farm. New life at our farm.

“Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful.  He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.”  Joel 2:23

A fun fact I feel compelled to share……as I have been writing this blog, God has brought several small rain showers upon our pond even though it shows a 0% chance of rain in the weather forecast.  Proof of who rules the skies.