The Blessings of Rain

Each time it rains in Israel, it is a reminder that we live off this land. In a water-starved country, you do not take water for granted and there is a direct link between how much rain we get, where it falls, and how easily we can turn on the taps in our homes. After a bad winter, we can’t wash our cars – never with hoses, only with buckets in any event. After a bad winter, we have to minimize how we water our gardens, if we water them at all.

When you soak potatoes – what do you do with the water left in the pot? I take the water and pour it into the garden. When you take a shower and are soaping up your hair, do you close the water? When you brush your teeth, do you leave the water running?

We close the water when we soap our hair and bodies. We close the water while brushing our teeth. We catch precious drops of water and we use them carefully and in the wettest storms as the water drenches through our coats and we are chilled to the bones, we smile and say, “it’s really miserable today, thank God.”

Today, it is pouring in Jerusalem. Our offices are in a building with a central area made of what I think is shaded plexiglass – it keeps the heat of the sun out, the wet of the rain. When it pours down, the sound of the rain hitting the roof is so loud, so precious.

My daughter just walked into the office, “I’m soaked, thank God,” she said.

I love so much about this country – I love how we see the blessings, even in the miserable. It is raining so strong today, delaying the train, making puddles all over…it’s cold and damp…thank You, God.

1 Comment

  1. Close the water? Not turn off the water. Is that an Americanism or have you just lived here too long? 🙂

    We collect all the water from our air conditioners and use it on the garden or for washing the car. We also collect the water in the shower while waiting for the water to run hot and use it to flush the toilet

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