Rain, Rain, Go Away...

Come again another day...

Or week, or month...

It has been an unusually wet winter.  I know this for a fact because I was out all winter working on fencing.  It's hard to put PT posts 2-3' in the ground when the ground is soggy.  I learned that "M-10" was my best friend and made all the difference in keeping my posts tight even though the ground was so soft.

Yesterday, it rained all day.  My pond is full to the brim, the creek is rushing down the hills making that sound that only water can make as it flows over small waterfalls and down the creek bed that was carved decades ago.  Not too long ago I was down in the woods where the creek is, removing fallen limbs, pulling last years fall leaves that had gotten trapped on the rocks.  It was amazing as I worked my way down the creek, how the water began to move more swiftly causing that water melody to heighten.

There are times when I will be out on the land and I'll stop for a moment as my ears pick up the waters music.  I don't know why but those sounds always pour a peace into the heart, causing the stresses of normal life to fade just a bit.  As the waters in that creek flow over the rocks, striking each one as if it were a key on a piano, one can't help but notice that this 'musical instrument' is one of the most natural 'notes' He ever created.  Nothing can compare to the sound of rushing waters and if I could, I would capture that sound and place it in this post so that everyone could hear exactly what I hear.

As I write this I realize that those rains that have been such a pest, causing the labor of the work on this farm to increase dramatically, also have a balance.  Aside from the fact that it waters the lands and all living things, it also produces music that I often long to hear.  When the days are much dryer and the creek waters slow down, those sounds also diminish too.  There are times when the sounds are so faint that I'll find myself walking down to the creek to at least visually confirm that the music still plays.

I threw my back out 2 nights ago.  I don't recall doing anything specific that would cause me to say "uh oh", but that night it began to hurt to the point where I could hardly walk.  I woke up at 3:30am yesterday morning because my back was hurting so bad.  All day yesterday as I tried to walk around, confined to the house because of the pouring rains, I was frustrated, resentful and stressed because "I need to get this done outside...I need to get that done outside"...self imposed pressure because nature is oblivious, and actually disrespectful of the plans I have to get everything 'just right' on this farm.

This morning I was somehow able to force myself to sleep past 3:30am when I woke up again.  As I got out of bed I felt like I was walking like a 9 month old pregnant woman who is about to give birth lol.  "waa waa waa" filled my mind and my heart until I opened up the kitchen door and began to hear the music roaring down in the creek.

As the music began to touch my heart I struggled to push it aside with "but, but, but, I need......." and then finally I folded, accepting that the farm was doing quite fine without me making any progress outside.  The animals were safe, well fed, dry and content.  A few of the dogs were actually laying out on their sides, loving the midst that is hanging in the air, oblivious to the soggy ground they lay on.  All was fine in their world, and it started to be ok in my world too.

I found myself sitting on my kitchen steps outside, oblivous to how wet those steps are, watching the rooster and the hens emerge from their coop and walk around.  Rocky, my ram stood at the fence watching me, the limbs on the trees mimicking a music conductor's arms as they kept tempo with the music of the waters roaring in the creek.

These types of things cause one to breathe deeply, inhaling the depth of simple things that fill the heart and defy our best laid plans.