We Prayed for Rain

Colorado has been in a state of drought for more than twenty years. We've diligently prayed for rain. And this year we are seeing the fruits of our prayers. Monsoon season is in full swing and I, for one, am thrilled to see all the wildflowers and green "stuff" we haven't really seen in years.

Yesterday, my friend Donna Lawson, who is visiting from Arkansas, and I went out exploring around Fairplay. We were driving down the highway from Fairplay to Breckenridge when we decided to take a sudden turn to the left down a road off the beaten path. We happened upon an old gold mine long ago abandoned and Donna cracked me up by climbing up to the entrance with me on the ground saying don't fall in. Next we made another left hand turn for more off the beaten path adventures. This road was a one laner winding up the side up of a mountain ending up above treeline. "I'm game if you are," was the mantra of the day for us. We are former classmates, proud graduates of the 1975 Fighting Jackrabbits of Lonoke High School in the big, booming metropolis of Lonoke, Arkansas. And any proud Jackrabbit would never settle for mediocrity, so up the mountain we went in her sturdy, steady silver Chevrolet Malibu rental. What we found astounded even me, a tried and true Colorado citizen of 25 years. Columbine, Indian Paintbrush, Trumpet flowers, daisies, Aspen sunflowers, wild camomile, crocus and many more wildflowers filled the landscape like so many watercolors in an art gallery. Although we have had grass and flowers, I can't recall the abundance I'm enjoying this season...the wettest in a VERY long time.

This evening while returning from a dinner party at the home of good friends, we drove straight into the worse thunder/hail/rain/lightning storm I can ever remember in all my years in Colorado. It was dark out. Lightning lit the sky as rain and marble-sized hail pelted everything under the storm's cover. Donna and I were both leaning into the windshield desperately trying to see anything in front of us. I squinted, gripping the armrest, suffering from white knuckle syndrome. This went on for several miles until we finally got some relief. Suddenly another streak of lightning lit up the night and large creatures virtually emerged out of the darkness. "What the...." It was elk. Huge, glorious elk crossing the road, freaking out in the aftermath of the storm. Some ran in front of us. Others scattered in the night, obviously disconcerted and frightened by the severity of the substantial weather we were experiencing.

FREAKY!  That's all I can say. I was nervous. I kept repeating, "This is insane! This is insane!" like a broken record. I'm sure Donna wanted me to knock it off or at least try to stretch my brain's capacity and say something different, like maybe, "Lord, please just get us home!" I halfway expected her to say, "Get a grip!"
But she was very gracious and carried on despite my blithering.

We finally made it home (thank the Lord) and I've never been so grateful to see my porch light as we drove down the long drive.

Yes....we prayed for rain. And God say, "okay. You asked for it. You got it!"