And We Wait and We Wait!

Maybe it is the negative degrees temperatures.
Maybe it's the frigid, breath stealing wind.
Maybe it's the ice covered snow
Maybe it's the restarting of a new semester of homeschooling.
Maybe it's the recovering from a two month long, Holiday, food coma.
Maybe it's the 22nd day of the government shutdown that has me in a shutdown funk. With no pay check and no end in sight. This stand still just has me in a "I don't want to do ANYTHING!" attitude. I don't want to clean or fold the mounds of laundry. I don't want to bake, which is a rare thing for me because baking seems to be the thing that always lifts me up! We spend the day keeping the fire going so we don't have to buy oil, watching the news(which is always bad) and waiting to hear if Keith is going to be going back to work. It's limbo land which I was never good at limbo, bending like a pretzel was never a strong suit of mine. We just wait. and wait......

The waiting and the constant chill in the air gives me goose bumps and has me missing the rains in Africa. Rainy season in Africa means its hot, steamy and green. You see, before the rains begin, Zambia will be brown and all the grass is so dead it breaks and snaps as you walk through it. The air is so dry that the slightest breeze causes dust storms to blow. Your footsteps stir up the dust that tickles your nose, or honestly starts you to coughing! Animals search far for a source of water. Rivers and creeks are dry. The sun bakes the earth till there are cracks running along the land. It's so hot that the sweat runs down your back, your neck and your arms. You want to jump in a nice river, but the crocodiles are there so I don't recommend it unless your name is Dundee. The anticipation of rain is great! You know it will come. You know it but you wait and wait!

On the horizon you see it! The brown sky full of dust clouds grows dark and darker. Clouds begin to form into big thunderheads. The dry breeze changes and you can smell it. You can smell the rain. It's coming! Everyone looks up, their eyes wander to the horizon a lot. In the distance, you hear the rolling thunder that grows louder as it approaches. The the sun shines down on the dark clouds creating a vast contrast of bright browns to dark greys and blues. As the clouds approach you can hear it, the rain drenching the parched land and it soaks up the much needed water. It's the time of dancing in the rain. The first rain! Rainy season has begun!

Almost immediately the land changes to a lush bright green that is so bright it's shines. The rain brings a steamy feel, that yes feels sticky but after such a long dry spell you welcome the sauna feel. The months following are filled with lush providing rain. I miss this! I miss the rains down in Africa! I miss home and the rainy season is something I miss a lot.

It's on  cold days like today that I look forward to the summer. I am not a big HEAT person but on cold days like this I really would love to play outside in shorts. But like the shutdown, we wait. I know the end will come just like I know summer will come, but we wait. Until then I will think of how lovely the ice looks with the sun shining off it. How the squirrels make me laugh with their bushy tails and wiggly noses. I will treasure the birds that tap on my window and ask for more birdseed.(yes I may be creating spoiled birds) I will laugh with my kids as they sing funny songs and marvel at their creative Lego building skills. I will enjoy having my husband home all day and mark off some of the honey do lists, that we didn't have time to do before. I will enjoy this moment as we wait.....to be honest, that took a lot to write, because the anxiety that tries to over through me wants to choke me, but I fully trust God knows what he is doing. I know he is in control even when our world seems in chaos. But daily I wait... Isaiah 40:31 "Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not grow tired, they will walk and not become weary.

Not sure what I was really accomplishing with this post except having a great day reminiscing about home. Missing rain and heat and the lush greenery that rain provides. While we wait I better go get some stuff done. Stacking wood, folding clothes and baking something yummy! Have a wonderful day where ever you are!

Here is a view that I absolutely love! The Mighty Victoria Falls during rainy season as the falls is full of water and the land is green and lush. ( I didn't take this picture and I don't remember who did)