We love summer thunderstorms

I have always been quite a fan of the rain. In highschool I liked to sit on the back screened porch in the rocking swing and listen to the rain. Then, I'd like to walk outside after it subsided to smell everything. Everything after a quick hard rain smells fresh and inviting. Then in college I had several spots that the rain and I most liked to meet. One being upper tentalow 7 at Camp Greystone. After a filling lunch we would head to the mailroom to pick up any surprises in our mail box. I received a letter a day that summer. I love letters. Once Fran, my co-counselor and now dear friend, and I passed out the mail for the day we took our spot atop our bed/closet for the summer (everything you could imagine was stored underneath) and we were greeted by the clapping sound on the tin roof. I don't know how and I don't question it but every day that summer it started to rain as soon as I lay my head down. Naps just haven't been the same since. The next summer the rain turned to thunder and lightning as "The Bohemians" sat on our 2nd floor porch facing the battery in Charleston. Granted, we were 2 miles from the water but we still got to see some of the best storms you could imagine. There are more I am sure but these are the most memorable. The ones I can still feel and smell.
And lately that smell is all too familiar. Last week as Brad and I were visiting Charleston for our first vacation since the honeymoon we shared two of my most favorite storms. The first was one of those that starts brewing right after lunch. It builds fury over the hot afternoon hours and every time you step outside you feel that it is about to let loose. This one held off until my favorite hour of the day - 5pm. I sat with the girls in the living room listening to the thunder and watching the encroaching darkness. Brad was on the golf course during this one but he tells me it was invigorating all the same. Then on our 3 hours too long ride home we spent half of the trip driving half the speed limit to make it through the storms that seemed to be following us all the way home. But once we reached Atlanta after 9m you would not imagine the color of the freshly showered sky! Brad and I did something we hadn't done in along time and it felt good. We turned off the radio and just rode quietly. Then we prayed out loud. Trust me, as weird this may seem you would have done the same thing. You couldn't help but thank someone up there after this particular storm and the sunset that transpired.
Then this week we took the famous dog to Chastain Park. As soon as we tell Amos that he gets to go to the "park" (you have to say it in a high pitched voice) his tail starts flying back and forth ferociously. He LOVES the "park." We had a cozy little walk, ran into an old friend, enjoyed the conversation. We walked ourselves as far away from the car as we could possibly get when the thunder began to roar. We sped up. Then the rain began to fall. It pounded on my back and drenched my shoes. It was perfect! Amos was certainly confused as he loves water but hadn't experienced it pouring from the sky relentlessly. We thought to speed up as the lightning was coming closer but I think the excitement took over both of us and decided just to walk back....taking our time...enjoying the smell of the rain that had been building the last few hours. What a reminder of my lack of control. What a refreshing feeling to feel and smell the bigness of our Creator just showering on us...literally.
The forecast doesn't even have to call for a thunderstorm anymore. It is pretty typical that on an Atlanta-warm summer day the clouds will start to darken about 3:30 and by 6:30 the flood gates will open. They never last too long but long enough to be reminded of their origination and long enough to feel good about the day! How refreshing!
Bring on the storms today! I can't wait for the afternoon.