"You don't look very happy today. Something wrong?" he asked.
"Of all the luck," she protested. "Our first holiday from school and it has to go and rain." She continued to stare toward the window.
Mr. Jensen put down his paper and smiled at his daughter. "Looks to me like you forgot what holiday it is."
Julie looked a little ashamed. "Yeah, I know it's Thanksgiving, but I was planning to go on a long bike ride today with Susan. Now we can't go anywhere."
#31- Showers Of Blessings?
A Character story about gratefulness.
Julie stood staring out the living room window as the rain beat against the glass. Periodically lightning flashed through the gray clouds, answered with the distant rumble of thunder. After several minutes she shuffled across the room and slouched into a chair across from her dad. Mr. Jensen looked up from the paper he was reading.
"You don't look very happy today. Something wrong?" he asked.
"Of all the luck," she protested. "Our first holiday from school and it has to go and rain." She continued to stare toward the window.
Mr. Jensen put down his paper and smiled at his daughter. "Looks to me like you forgot what holiday it is."
Julie looked a little ashamed. "Yeah, I know it's Thanksgiving, but I was planning to go on a long bike ride today with Susan. Now we can't go anywhere."
Mr. Jensen thought a moment. "Couldn't you invite Susan over here to play a game for a while. Maybe you can show her that new game you got."
Julie shrugged. "Naw. Her family is going to visit someone this afternoon so we could only play for a couple of hours. Why did it have to rain anyway? That ruined everything!"
"Well now that's a good question," Mr. Jensen responded cheerfully, trying to encourage Julie. "Let's see what this book here says about rain." He took a large brown book from the table next to him and glanced through the index. Then he turned several pages and began to read. "Well, we shouldn't feel alone, Sissy. It says here that an average of 1,800 thunderstorms are rumbling away somewhere in the world all the time."
"Really? I never dreamed there were that many," Julie remarked with little enthusiasm.
Mr. Jensen continued. "And where do you think the water comes from for all those thunderstorms?"
Julie thought a moment. "Well, I guess from the oceans, and lakes, and stuff."
"You're mostly right. But notice this. It says here that an acre of corn gives off 300,000 gallons of water each day. If the corn plants give off that much water, they have to keep taking water in too. Where do you think they get that much water?"
"From the rain I guess," Julie suggested.
"That's the main source. So if it doesn't rain, the tress and plants will eventually die. Listen to this. It says here that one corn plant needs 40 to 50 gallons of water each day, and a maple tree takes in 12 tons of water in a month! And that's not to mention the fruit trees. They need lots of water to grown and to make fruit juice inside. A grown apple tree needs 125 gallons of water each day to quench its thirst. So, you see the rain is a necessary part of giving us food and keeping us alive."
"Yeah... I guess," Julie agree half-heartedly. She thought for a few moments. "Hmmm. It's kind of like a big circle. The water goes us from the oceans, comes down in the rain, and then runs to the oceans in the river. It just goes around and around."
"Right. The same water has been going around for a long time. That's called the water cycle and it's mentioned in the Bible in the book of Ecclesiastes chapter one. If we didn't have the rain, the circle would be broken, and that really would ruin everything."
A few moment of silence followed. "Thanks a lot, Daddy," Julie said.
"Thanks? For what?"
"For reminding me that we should be thankful for everything ... including the rain."
Mr. Jensen smiled. "That's right, Sissy. The Bible promises, 'No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.' And that includes the rain."
Julie smiled again, and then jumped up from her chair.
"Hey, where are you going in such a hurry?" Mr. Jensen asked.
"I'm going to call Susan. Maybe she can come over for an hour. I want to show her my new game."