Let it rain!

We have finally entered into the rainy season here. The dry season was long, hot and very dusty. But the rains have begun. Growing up in America I mostly thought of rain as an inconvenience. Here I realize how essential it is for life. 

It is hard to grow much during the dry season, so people wait until the rains begin to plant their crops. This week all of our neighbors have been planting. It is an exciting time of year!

While the rains are so important for those who grow their own food, they also bring some less desirable effects. First my boys are almost always covered in mud. Here is Zeke splashing in a mud puddle. 

Along with the rain also come many insects. One night recently I killed almost 20 crickets and nearly 100 other insects in our home. I have begun killing insects with my bare hands. If you use the side of your fist near your pinky finger, you dont feel the crunch as much. I still need a shoe or napkin to asist me in killing the larger spiders and crickets. But watch out cochroaches and white ants! The white ants, a.k.a. termites, have arrived in swarms. They are a bit of an annoyance to me, sweeping up all those that I kill, but the kids of GSF love to catch them, remove the wings and fry them. Yes, they are food for many here. Here is one pile of what I cleaned up the other night.

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." I Thessalonians 5:16-18

It is easy for me to begin complaining in my heart about all of these inconveniences, but when I go out my back door and see all of my friends who depend on this rain for growing food, I thank God. I thank him for the blessing of this rain and the way he cares for so many by sending it. I also am thankful for the cooler breezes the rain brings. It is so refreshing! And I am thankful for the picture of grace that the rain is. (I think this analogy comes from Martin Luther, but I'm not sure. I read it in a Bible study somewhere.) We do nothing to earn or deserve the rain. We cannot make it happen. We just recieve it. It is the same way with grace. We can do nothing to earn or deserve a relationship with God. He is perfectly righteous; I am not. On my own I am separated from God. But in his compassion He showers his grace on us. He gives us the righteousness of Jesus. We just receive it through faith, like the ground recieved the rain. (Ephesians 2:8-9) Thank you, God, for showering your grace on us through Jesus! Thank you, God, for the rain!