Rain

I've been humming Michael W. Smith's song, "Healing Rain" for the last 24 hours. The forecasters are calling for rain...lots of rain...this week. The kids and I are soooo excited! We really enjoy "sunny California," but the rain is such a beautiful change of pace. I love how everything begins to grow and sprout. I love to cuddle up under a blanket with the kids and read while the rain pours down. The forecasters are beginning to call it "El Nino." That means there's a warming trend in the ocean which brings us much more rain than usual. We've been here 5 years and I believe this is the first El Nino season since we moved. However, too much rain is not a good thing either...especially for all the areas that burned during the wildfires last year. That is definitely an advantage to living in the flat inner city...no wildfires...no mudslides. The pouring rain makes our neighborhood seem peaceful...it tends to put a damper on suspicious activities...at least the ones that are carried out in the open. But that only lasts for a while...sometimes having everyone cooped up inside makes tempers flare. I have been very thankful that I haven't heard gunfire...or even low flying helicopters... for several days now. I'm praying that the rain will help this calm continue.