Let The Rain Fall Down...

As I stood in the kitchen preparing our evening tea, a sudden flash lit up the dark horizon.  The unexpected burst of light was soon followed by a loud crack that caused the wall of glass windows to rattle.  Over the next half an hour I was treated to an orchestrated light show--a visual and aural experience that only Mother Nature could provide.
The show announced the arrival of the rainy season.  We had experienced a few sprinkles over the past few months, but the amounts of precipitation were minimal and not  enough to bring the earth back to life.  But the threatening storms that were now gathering on the horizon were different.  Even though I could barely make out the clouds in the dark night, I knew they were heavy with water.  Their arrival would bring the much needed moisture.  The  rains would reverse the destruction that had occurred during the long, hot summer.  The ugly, barren, hills that had been drained of life by the blaring sun and hot wind will soon become vibrantly alive.  The dry river beds once again will flow with water.  But with the deluge will come a different kind of destruction.  The hardened land is incapable of absorbing the amount of water that is about to arrive.  A lack of vegetation will lead to erosion as the strong down pour swiftly carries away the dirt.  Below the sheets of water, that connect the sky to the earth, puddles will quickly form and flood the roadways of the concrete jungle.
In the wake of the storm we will look past the destruction.  We will rejoice, because even though we are able to live with the dust and dryness, it is a countryside textured with life and color with which we dream.