Finally, some rain! But will it be enough to end the drought we are in? Unfortunately, it will not. According to the Virginia Drought Monitor, we are experiencing the 6th-driest January-to-April period on record since 1895. We normally average 9.04 in. total precipitation, so we are 4.48 in. below normal. Some areas in North Carolina are experiencing the worst drought on record.

 My wife decided to check the mailbox today, and as she did so, a car pulled in and backed out. She waved to them, and at the moment they rolled down the window, an elderly gentleman told her that he was 87 and that his daughter was driving him to visit where he grew up, a trip down memory lane.

Retirement is a game-changer for many. A dear friend of mine retired a few years ago, and all was well for the first year. Projects that had been neglected for years were soon tackled one by one. But soon it came down to organizing the basement and all the tools.

Several years ago, I planted some azalea bushes on the side of my building, which is next to the creek. The first year, they really took off and produced some beautiful flowers. Since then, they have begun producing less foliage and fewer flowers. I have faithfully fertilized them and kept them watered. Unfortunately, they look like they might not make it another season. I was perplexed over the situation. But then I found the problem.

I recently decided to watch several church services streaming online. A fast-forward button on the preaching allowed me to see and hear the preachers and the day's message. Without exception, every preacher used notes. Are the notes wrong? No, but 99 percent of the time, they lack an anointing. Most were like drinking from a muddy river, flooded by the rains of the world of technology. A swipe of the screen to flip notes has replaced the pure artesian wells from the prayer closets. We see not just people who have forsaken “Me, the fountain of living waters,” but the leaders have hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water (Jer. 2:14).

Over the past year or so, I have watched from my window or the creek on Sunday mornings as cars speed by, heading to the small church down the road, which I have attended a few times. Five minutes till ten means it's time for Sunday school. An hour later, those who prefer morning worship to Sunday school will pass by. A few minutes after noon, the same vehicles pass by, indicating that the morning service is complete. The adage is true, I can set my watch by the predictability of the vehicles passing my place.

My wife has quite the green thumb. She loves her plants and takes meticulous care of them. She is particularly fond of her rubber and lemon trees. The rubber trees all started from a plant that her grandfather had some 50-plus years ago. Over the years, she has pruned and started new trees, giving some to friends, even to the mailman. I must not forget the Christmas cactus that is quite old as well.

This is what happens when…

A couple of days ago, I was sitting at the creek on my deck when I looked over the side and saw a small, beautiful flower growing. What was unusual was that there was no other foliage around it. It was growing by itself among sticks, some dirt, and even some stones. At that moment, I was reminded of a saying from my childhood Sunday school teacher: “bloom where you are planted.”