Here in the Central Valley of California, we average just over 11 inches of rain per year.  So you see rain is a rare seasonal event.  Last week we received our first significant rain of the season.  We are very thankful.  I seeded my lawn in anticipation of the rain.  With great expectation my wife and I looked for the arrival of the tender green blades of grass.  The rain brought them forth and we were delighted.  The lawn that had become brown and ugly is now green with promise.

I grew up in a large and poor family.  For us candy was a rare commodity.  When Halloween came around we were very excited.  Trick or treating was a phenomenal event in our lives.  I remember storing away my treasures and eating just a few at a time to make them last.  We were very blessed to have candy.

I now live on a very small income compared to the salaries my wife and I made before retirement.  What was pocket change then is now a windfall when it arrives unexpectedly.  Going to a movie or eating out is much more exciting now that it can’t happen very often.  With the scarcity of money comes a greater appreciation of what we have.

Rain, candy, money, and many other things when in abundance are taken for granted.  When they are rare, we are thankful for them.  In Proverbs 30:7-9 we read:

Two things I ask of you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die: keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.  Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’  Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.

My prayer is that I will always be thankful and content with God’s provision, Amen.