A day of simple blessings

I spent a delightful afternoon at the Senior Center playing dominoes. After I came home, Gail and I went to a favorite local restaurant for supper just after seeing televised storm warnings for “possible tornado activity, hail and/or torrential rain.” We decided to sit the storm out there, as long as it might take. Large, many-paned windows cover one entire side and end of the building, but all are under overhanging roofs, so we felt as well protected as possible inside.

Ordering, eating and savoring my favorite meal can distract me from anything but total catastrophe ... at least I believe it can. My euphoria from domino games lingers for hours. That — coupled with my always-ravenous appetite — temporarily overrides all other thoughts!

The heat of July frequently brews wind and hail storms in our region, so we’re both veterans of such experiences. Those memories are definitely not calming, yet they prove that each of us, bodily and personally, has escaped unscathed thus far. We have each survived high winds and hail that damaged property, homes and automobiles. Being such a “seasoned veteran” (and knowing I am, also), Gail suggested a few-mile drive up U.S. Highway 16 toward Osage and Upton after the storm passed.

We were both curious about what the very ominous clouds we’d seen farther out that way had produced, so off we ventured. The air was nice and fresh, so with the car windows partly down we savored the “smell of rain” ... forever my “favorite fragrance”!

Thankfully — and gratefully for our answered prayers — the clouds passed, the noise ceased, and a dead calm settled over our happy home before full darkness. It is humid and the house is warmer than we’d like after such a tumultuous evening, but at least the frightened dog, the restless cat and my anxiety about possible damage to our roof, windows and more have all abated. The cooling fans are overcoming the lingering heat. What more could we desire?

Another perfect July day — fun, busy, scary and tumultuous, yet ending in calm peacefulness — has passed.

Thank You, God, for planting us here in Newcastle, Wyoming, and for constantly protecting us! Amen.

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