Prayers, Big and Small

As B and I sat at the table, eating our "noo-noos" (mac and cheese) and "chee-keen" (chicken), we heard the start of the pitter-patter of RAIN.

It has been so long since we've seen or heard rain that at first, I honestly thought there were a bunch of critters in our attic!

Living in the Adirondacks, whenever we heard about the drought conditions in other parts of the country, it was hard to imagine what that really looked like.

Now we know.

We have to water our house here.

Yes, you heard read me right. Around here, if you don't have soaker hoses surrounding your house to water your foundation every day, your house will shift, eventually leaving cracks the size of the Grand Canyon on your floors and walls.

I'm only exaggerating a teeny bit. This was part of what took us so long finding a house. There were so many great houses out there, but they had been taken care of poorly (cracks galore).

Anyway, once we realized that it was really, truly raining, B and I cheered a great, big "Hurray! Thank you, Jesus, for rain!"

In a few minutes, though, the rain stopped.

I thought to myself, "Well, at least that was something."

My toddler, however, yelled, "Moh WAYNE!"

Wouldn't you know it, within a few seconds, the rain started up again. Harder.

And it's still raining.

I'm pretty sure God heard the enthusiastic request of my little boy, smiled, and happily granted it.

I'm praying that this same God, the God who cares for the big things and small things, comforts the hearts of all the grieving friends and families in Newton, CT. There was a time when school was a safe place for children. As a teacher and a mother of a child who might someday go to public school, my heart just breaks at these tragic occurrences.

When will enough be enough?

I'm not a hippie pacifist. I'm just a wife, mom, teacher, friend who thinks, "Guns don't kill people; people kill people," is a bunch of bull-crap. Try telling that to the 18 moms who will never tuck their babies into bed at night ever again, who have presents under the tree that will never be unwrapped. Tell that to the friends and families of the 9 teachers who were murdered today.

Pray.