Phenomenal flashbacks

My time here in Colorado is coming to an end quickly. Three weeks left and I will leave this part of my life behind. I honestly never thought it could get here fast enough. But tonight almost made me change my mind. Almost.

It is thunderstorm season in the plains this time of year--early to mid spring. And with it comes some of the most incredible, and unpredictable, forecasts you're never expecting. I will have to take some pictures.

Tonight I went for a jog around town (yes, it takes me about 20 minutes to JOG around town, that's how small it is) because I was enlivened by the tumultuous weather. Rain pelted me earlier in the day. And it was no light mist either, like Seattle experiences--the kind where you don't need an umbrella. Within the course of a few seconds, my shoulders were practically soaking. That's what you call a downpour. Nevertheless, I decided to bare the weather--rain or not.

My jog quickly turned into a walk, however, as I chose to venture into unknown territoy--always a slightly scary and empowering adventure. I was going to walk out into the country on a country road instead of taking the main streets, like I usually do. Why? you might ask. Because that is where the clouds were, and where I wanted to fly away to. Here the reminiscing began.

First, the most powerful memory-stirrer: scent.

It smelled like my grandma and poppy's house out in the country in Yakima, from when I was a little girl. I haven't smelled that smell in years--the smell of barn. Of cats and evaporated milk. Of wet hay. Of open fields. Intoxicating. Addicting.

Second, a most powerful reminder of God's awesome glory: nature.

The dark grey clouds came rolling in from the north, while rain showers of a lighter grey color, looking like a soft blanket falling from the heavens to the horizon, cascaded slowly toward me from the west. Thunder began to rumble slightly. The breeze picked up. I started walking back.

I hadn't walked far when I stopped--only a few houses and farms in the distance. No cars. Brown field lay before me, empty crossroads stretched in either direction, a few large jackrabbits chased each other, and bright green grass lit up the land behind me. Closing my eyes, I stretched out my arms and breathed in the cool, rain-smelling air. And then I heard it. The wind picked up and was now sailing through the limbs of the tall trees, which are just beginning to bud with new young life. Astounding. My heart is soaring. I am flying.

Oh God. How magnificent you are. And how small I am. The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it. He is mighty, to be praised.