Spring has Sprung

It is spring in San Diego. I think spring may just be my favorite season here, and I know we don't get a lot in the way of seasons. But spring definitely exists. It is the one time of year when this near-desert locale is green. We have been getting a lot of rain this winter, at least by San Diego standards, and it is totally worth it. All the hills are lush, and random flowers pop up along the freeways. It is warm (usually), but not yet hot and dry like summer. Everything smells awesome. And I really like to smell things.

One of the greatest scents God created is orange blossoms. Seriously, if Estee Lauder could bottle that stuff I would wear nothing else. It is amazing. At my parents' house, the air is so heavily perfumed with it this time of year, it's intoxicating.

  It has rained every Saturday for the last four or five weeks now. I am a little upset that we've had sunny, beautiful days during the week while I'm sitting in my office, and rain and wind on my days off. But...today there are blue skies, some big puffy clouds, and a spring breeze. And the forecast for the weekend is sunny!

So welcome, Spring, to San Diego. We're so glad to see you again.

Happy Spring.

Rain Music

Rain Music

On the dusty earth-drum

Beats the falling rain;

Now a whispered murmur,

Now a louder strain.

Slender, silvery drumsticks,

On an ancient drum,

Beat the mellow music

Bidding life to come.

Chords of earth awakened,

Notes of greening spring,

Rise and fall triumphant

Over everything.

Slender, silvery drumsticks

Beat the long tattoo--

God the Great Musician,

Calling life anew.

~Joseph Seamon Cotter, Jr.~

I woke up at four this morning to the sound of rain. It was glorious. Nothing is better than laying cozy in your bed, warm and safe when there's inclement weather outside. I've always loved late nights when the wind is howling, rain (sometimes snow) is falling, and it's cold--and there's nowhere to be but tucked under the covers.

everywhere I look, I see rain

I have recently discovered something new about myself.

If there is one pet peeve my friends and family know best of mine, it is that I hate wet socks! This is then followed by socks with holes in them. Apparently I am very picky about my feet.

Living in San Diego, there is not much in the way of "inclement" weather. This week, however, we have been doused with rain. It rained all day on Monday. While enjoying the seldom-heard pit-pat pit-pat of drops, I found there is something I really don't like about a rainy day. Something that irks me even more than a damp sock...and that...is a soggy hem. I hate it when the hem of your pants gets soaked. Not only does this increase the chance of acquiring a wet sock, but you cannot simply put your trousers away upon returning home and slipping into comfy-cozy sweats. They have to dry.

So, knowing full well that we were in for another rainy day today, I tried to devise the best possibly way to avoid the same mishap that befell my pants on Monday. I did not come up with anything clever...but I did decide to wear my boots today. So far...my pants are still dry. But I am not done going outside yet.

ROY G BIV

I saw a rainbow today. It was unexpected. And short. A brief burst of color in an otherwise bleary sky. It wasn't even wet. I was headed toward the freeway, and the whole sky was gray and cloudy. All of a sudden, there was this one hill hit with a burst of sunlight. Alongside it the rainbow. Red. Orange. Yellow. Green. Blue. Indigo. Violet. All that jazz.

I've been reading through the Bible with my women's Bible study this year (our goal is to read the whole thing in the year 2008!), and recently read the strange, folklore-ish account of Noah and the ark. And the rainbow that God gave him as a sign that He would never again destroy the earth on account of man. Never again would water swallow up our existence. Can you imagine being Noah and seeing that first rainbow for the very first time? I like to imagine it bigger, more brilliant, and vibrant, and colorful than any rainbow any of us has ever seen.

What better symbol of God's grace and hope?