Here in the furthest NE corner of South Dakota, the spring, summer, and fall of 2020 were fairly hot, after several moderate years with good summer rains and fairly heavy winter snow-packs. The winter of 2020/2021 was moderately cold and quite dry, with very little snow.
When we hit spring in 2021, the weather was at first cold and dry, and then warmer and dry. In late May, things heated up to just plain HOT and dry, which continued throughout most of June (today is the next-to-last day of June, 2021). We did have a few spotty rainfalls through the month, but nothing to speak of, and nothing that one could actually call a “rainy day,” for sure!
People in our state have been praying and believing God for some good, soaking rain–not only for our own small gardens and yards, but for the 1000s of farmers in our state who need a LOT more rain than we’ve had in the last two years. This is farm country!
Here, at our home (we are four adults and eight children living on a small hobby farm), we believe in taking our God-given authority over the elements. We love storms, as long as they don’t come rushing in headlong applying damages. We, along with others in our area, have been calling in the good rain, and standing against the most severe thunderstorms that usually come with extremely high winds, lots of cloud-to-ground lightning, and torrential rains that often become at least small hail. Since moving here in 2009l, we’ve also stood against a number of tornadoes, and watched them back down (or back up, I suppose I should say–grin).
SPECIAL NOTE: Just yesterday, I also asked some other obvious weather warriors who frequent the YouTube Channel “Weatherman Plus,” and Mark (who IS The Weatherman), if they would agree with us in prayer for rain in our area of the country, I think they did–thanks, guys! 😀
At any rate, as I went outside to my porch this afternoon, I carried a watering can with which to soak the six cloth-bag planters that one of my granddaughters and I have planted out there. They were all fairly moist, but I used up the remainder of the water I had left in the can, out there by the planters, last evening.
As I was doing that (and telling the plants how well they are already doing, as I always do), I began speaking directly to the clouds, to the angels that are always around us, to the rain itself, and to God.
My conversation went something like this: “Clouds–you are definitely RAIN clouds! You need to let GO of that rain, and let it POUR (but not in a harmful way). Rain–COME, in Jesus’ name! Angels–if necessary, SQUEEZE the clouds to let out the rain, and then be sure that our property is protected, as well as watered! Father God, please coordinate all of this so that our water tables can be amended, as well as keeping damages away from our property, please.”
When I had finished, I set down the empty watering can, turned toward the sky, and said, “Thank you, clouds! Thank you, rain! Thank you, angels! Thank you, Father!” then I walked back into the house.
I walked directly to my computer, and started to do some work I had started on before remembering to water the plants. About two minutes later, I stopped still, and listened again…YES!!! That HAD been thunder that I’d heard! I was looking out the window by my desk, just as I thought that, and RIGHT THEN, I saw the rain’s VERY BEGINNING, as it began to POUR out of the clouds that had settled in comfortably above! Hallelujah!
I quickly grabbed my cellphone, set it to camera mode, and went out on the porch to take photos. David (my husband) soon appeared on the porch from his shop, as well, and HE got in a couple of photos after the shower (which lasted around two hours, praise God) had slowed down and almost stopped.
We all rejoiced, and had a GREAT evening! Thank you, Father God! Again…thank you, clouds, rain, and angels, too! What a wonderful, glorious, lovely treat! 😀
Here are the pictures David and I took, of the rain, the DOUBLE rainbow after the rain, the last bit of clouds (for the moment, right then…more of them have sailed in, now, and could still produce more rain, which would be fine with us), and a lingering puddle.
HINT: If you want to see the photos larger, either press and hold on them (cell phone) or right-click on them (PC), and choose to view the image separately.
