Tag: flooding

Water is a much-needed entity in our everyday lives. We drink it for our health, and we bathe in it for cleanliness. Rain is needed to grow beautiful flowers, and to water crops and gardens. We enjoy water for a boat ride, or to cool off on a hot summer day. The gentle patter of rain on a tin roof can lull us to sleep, while the pounding of a deluge can cause us to question our choice of roofing material. A babbling brook welcomes our toes after a long hike in the mountains, and the roaring of the ocean’s waves engulfs our senses. Water is magnificent, beautiful and a curiosity.

This liquid becomes a curiosity when it reaches out of its bounds. Sometimes the unleashing of a storm pushes those limits. The confines of reservoirs and dams that are man-made, and other times solid rock or shifting sands of nature can be challenged to hold…water.

I have always been intrigued by flooding. Maybe the Big Thompson Flood of July 31, 1976 piqued my interest. I was just eleven years old that summer, and watching the coverage on the news of that canyon flooding  really made an impact on me. I lived in Longmont, Colorado at the time, and that was almost too close for comfort. Those areas had been Sunday afternoon drives in the mountains, and I could remember them.

Water is a need in our lives. Without it, we die. But too much in wrong places can be devastating.

Missouri and other areas are looking like those three pictures. Kansas has had some local flooding as well. We went from needing some rain after a dry winter to needing to dry out. Our garden, which needs to be tilled, is one giant mud pie. But my newly transplanted rose of sharon and baby elms are doing fantastic with all the water.

And that’s life. In everything there can be a curse and a blessing. Please pray for those affected by the flooding in Missouri. I know a few people dealing with it. Each time I look up at those gray skies and dread more rain, I’m thankful for a newer roof, holding secure. I’m thankful for my flourishing plants and the cool days. And I’m thankful for my dry house, and not needing a boat to go to the grocery store. In everything give thanks.