It’s raining

 

It hasn’t rained at my house in almost 120 days. Need me to do the math for you? August the 5th was the last rain we had, less than .05 inches on that day. It rained once in July, less than an inch. The major lake in our community (56,000 acres when it is full) is down fifteen feet (January 1, 2016 to November 30, 2016). Guess what that looks like? Lots of mud and tree stumps. But right now it is raining hard, with the added bonus of a Severe Weather and a Tornado Warning.

Because I spend so much time on a bicycle, miles away from my home or car I have two weather apps on my phone that give me all kinds of warnings. Today was the first time the Tornado Warning alarm went off and I got to be honest with you, it was pretty chilling. I don’t live in an area that has a high occurrence of Tornadoes. They are at best a rarity and those that do touch down are relatively mild as Tornadoes go. But today, I spent fifteen minutes sitting in our bathroom waiting for a line of the storm to blow through. And boy did it blow.

It is raining, and for that I am very thankful. We have several wildfires burning in the Southeast. Thousands of pristine mountain acres have been destroyed just thirty minutes from my home. I am sure many of you have read about the devastating fires that occurred in Gatlinburg, TN. this week as well. This fire has killed seven people to date and destroyed over 400 structures.

I wish the rain had come sooner, but it didn’t. The death of my garden, grass and shrubs now seem trivial compared to the shock I have seen on the faces of people in Gatlinburg. The survivors talk about how quick it happened, losing everything they own, mostly mementos that they can’t replace, but also pets. It’s simply heartbreaking to watch.

Yes it is raining and I am thankful. I didn’t need all the other stuff but I will take the rain and I will keep the people of Gatlinburg in my thoughts and prays. I hope you will as well.