Fertile Ground, part 4

Relief
I love a good storm out here in the country. You can see the clouds piling up and marching across the sky long before they are overhead. I love the sounds of the raindrops on the roof and the rumble and crack of the thunder. The smells present during a storm awaken something in me that I cannot fully describe, but it is both satisfied and wild at the same time.
I have heard all of the simplistic ways that parents explain thunder to their children. “The angels are bowling in heaven today.” What a trivial way to sell your kids short of the truth! We have had numerous discussions about thunder and lightning as well as about the incomparable power of God. What is the purpose of lightning? I understand what it is and why. I also know that it helps to replenish the ozone layer. But what strikes me is that God could have dealt with the ozone in many ways, but he chose lightning because he could. Imagine that after all of the raw power needed to maintain the entire universe, the Almighty has plenty left over for the incredible displays of electricity during a storm.
After the drought that we had here last year (2006), the rains this spring have been a welcome refreshment. Did you know that one inch of rain over one square foot of ground weighs 5.2 pounds? And one inch of rain over one acre weighs 113.31 tons. Imagine if God just dumped that out of a bucket all at once. There would be flooding and great devastation. The crops as well as the people would be drowned for sure.
But the rain is a perfect picture of God’s grace. He measures it out to us just as we need it and when we need it most. And like the cooling rain, our Savior’s tender grace brings with it a life giving relief to the dry, fallow ground of our hearts. It can soak in and awaken new life in our soul, if we have sown the seeds by storing his Word in our hearts against lean times.
The next time it storms in your area, get as close to it as you can (or dare!) and talk or think about the power of God and his restraint of that power. Find verses that describe his grace. Or have a “water music” concert by singing as many Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs that talk about water as you can think of while you watch the rain. You just might find yourself longing for those drippy-have-to-stay-indoors days!

For you left brainers that need to know how I came up with my figures for the weight of rain, click here. http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/dickinso/research/2004/range04c.htm