“Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.” —Mark 11:24

I’ve spent the last year praying harder for rain than any other time in my life. We experienced drought years in North Carolina but nothing like the drought here in California.

I know it won’t rain every time I pray for it (we’d be in trouble if it did). But I also believe the drought here will end. If it were up to me, it would end this year. God may have other plans. In the meantime, I’ll keep praying and believing.

As a result of God’s answers to my rain prayers lately, I’ve had a lot of rejoicing to do. We have gotten almost five inches of rain this month already. I’ll be honest: I’ve had a few days where I had to remind myself that I needed to rejoice and not mumble even a little about the timing of particular deluges (like the one at that half marathon I was just a few minutes into last fall).

Yesterday was one of those days. The last thing I wanted to do was take the dog out for a walk in the cold downpour. I waited as long as I could and finally reminded myself that I don’t mind being out in the rain. I also take some small pride that my dog is no sissy when it comes to weather. Plus, the rain gave me an excuse to pull out my galoshes, unused in more than a year. Continue reading →