Once upon a time, I went to Europe with my parents. I had just graduated from high school, and Mom was chaperoning a couple of kids from the high school where she worked. I think originally there were supposed to be more kids going on the tour. (Mom had already done a previous eastern European tour with a group of high school kids when I was 14-ish.) She ended up only having two students go (I can't remember the girl's names, but I can see their faces; one was Sidney, but the other ... I can't remember).
Because there were so few students going, my mom asked her sister, Kathi, if she wanted to go. Sure enough, she did! And Kathi then asked her daughter if she wanted to go (yes, of course she did!), and her daughter invited a friend. That made a total of eight of us in our tour group (Mom, Dad, me, Kathi, Kathi's daughter, the daughter's friend, and the two high school students from Mom's school). It was a good group, and we all got along great. Somehow, we also ended up knowing others that went on the trip. We had a lot of fun together and really enjoyed seeing the sights.
We started the tour in England (London), and I loved that place. It rained almost every day we were there. For some people that might be depressing, but it wasn't the rain every day you get in places like Seattle. The rain in London was different; it would drizzle a little in the morning and then let up and turn green and sunny. You could go about your day, have an occasional rainy moment, and be done. At night, it would get drizzly again. It was never overcast enough during the day that it felt depressing. It was more refreshing than anything, and although it was humid, it did cool things off when it got hot. I loved it!
We've had some rainy days this summer - more than usual. It's made for a cooler summer than normal (no 100 degree days in July - what?!), but it's really reminded me of our time in London. It hasn't rained THAT much, but it has rained enough that it's felt a little like a cool European trip. Too bad it wasn't really a cool European trip ....
At least we didn't have to see "another damn castle" with all the rain!
Yes, indeed it has been a rainy summer and not many 100 degree days if any at all. I often find myself pondering over this because my stake (among others I am sure) fasted for moisture considering the unusually dry winter we had. While the rain didn’t come right away after the fast, it did come and then it came again and again and it has been an amazing thing this summer.
ReplyDeleteI know of an individual who with certainty knows that the moisture will always be there, maybe not like normal or usual, but that it will always come. Pretty amazing faith if I must say so. For me, it is a testament to fasting that the Lord hears and answers our prayers and provides for our temporal needs. However, I wonder how many others might say “it didn’t rain when we fasted, so He doesn’t answers our prayers” or don’t attribute the day of rain to the tender mercies and blessings of the Lord.
I don’t know why I analyze that but it is a reminder that the Lord of the Universe is in command and how we respond to his blessings and/or cursing can determine our destiny.