"THE RAIN BRINGS THE BLESSINGS OF GOD"

It's been raining ~ on & off ~ for about nine days. I was "googling" about rain and found this journal called Karen's Reflections. I'd like to share an excerpt.

"This past February, the day after our group had arrived in Kitojo, I was walking along a dirt path with our hostess Marjorie Musobozi and my teammate Flo Haedt. It was Sunday and we were returning from services at a small country church near Lake Nyanswiga. It began to rain, a few drops at first, but soon it escalated into a downpour by the time we reached the tourist home. Marjorie told us that it was almost time to begin planting seeds in anticipation of the March rains.

She made a statement that I will always remember:

“We work the soil, we plant our seeds and we wait for the rain. When the rain comes, it brings the blessings of God.”

The inhabitants of Kitojo and the surrounding area of the Ruwenzori foothills of Uganda depend on the rain for survival. The soil is rich, the sunshine plentiful, the people hard working, but the rain is seasonal. It comes in March, April and May and again in October, November and December. Irrigation systems are non-existent. Subsistence farming is the primary source of food.

“We wait for the rain.” I’ve reflected often on the depth of faith required in this waiting. Waiting is hard for us in the West, even when we are waiting for something we want but don’t really need. How hard it must be to wait for the very thing needed to survive! I saw no signs of anxiety in the Ugandans who had to wait for the rain that was very late this year. It rained that one day in February, but not again until April when the late rainy season began.

“The rain brings the blessings of God.” I marvel that Marjorie makes a direct connection between a natural phenomenon, the rain, with an evidence of God’s love and care for the people who depend on the rain, yet receive it as a blessing."

Patiently waiting for something they needed to survive! I'm not sure how I would act if I had to wait for rain ~ that seldom came ~ to water seeds that would ~ hopefully ~ grow into the only food I had to eat. I've grumbled about the toaster taking too long to pop! And I know I didn't consider it a blessing from God when it finally did!

Time for some more fine tuning in my life......

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18