The Difference Prayers Make!

 Hello everyone,

  I cannot tell you how excited I am to have you readers in my life!!  I'm pretty sure we won't meet until we get to Heaven but we're together down here.  I know that now more than ever!! 

  After nearly 6 weeks without rain here in the Great Plaines of the US, I asked you to pray that our farm would get desperately needed rain.  Within hours the rain started falling and my heart is full of gratitude to each one of you who prayed for that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  That night we got 3/4 of an inch of rain!!!  Not only that, but last night we got another 3/4 of an inch! That's an INCH AND A HALF of rain in the 2 days following my asking for your help!  It's a MIRACLE!!!!!!

  This rain will green up the pastures for the cattle so ranchers won't have to thin their herds before Winter.  This means a lot to me as I've had cattle in my life as a daughter; a wife; and as a mother.  

  When I asked Robert (my husband) if it's enough rain to save our crops, he wasn't sure.  It certainly would have done so a month ago but it may be too late to help with the corn crop as many of those plants were drying up already.  However, the soybeans may now produce a small crop for us.

  Robert and I went out last Sabbath to check the crops together.  He hadn't done that in 3 weeks as it was too depressing to see all of our hard work shrivel up without rain.  Last week I went with him as I was feeling better.

  I asked to see a soybean plant and Robert pulled one out for me.  There were about 10 pods on it but the beans were so small they didn't even bulge the pods like peas do when they're growing.  It was truly heartbreaking for my farmer husband so I was glad he wasn't alone.

  So now, with these 2 rains, we have hopes that those pods might start filling.  We get an early frost here, around September 15th, so they need to fill fast.  

  I appreciate every prayer that you sent but, as the Lord leads you, please keep praying for about an inch of rain a week.  Then those pods will fill and we'll have a reason to take out the combine this Fall.  

  I value you all taking the time to read my thoughts here!  One of my goals, in starting this blog over a decade ago, was to share things that give me hope.  Now you are giving me hope and it couldn't come at a better time.

  This year in our family we're having 2 babies and my son is getting married in October.  It's all wonderful but it isn't without stress.  My daughter's baby was another preemie so I spent 2 1/2 weeks at their house helping with the 5 children.  My daughter-in-law will give birth soon and that will be their 5th child.  This time it's a girl after 4 boys so their family is super excited.  I'm sure the boys will spend more and more time with us as the birth approaches.

  Then the wedding is going to be the highlight of the year as our youngest child has waited many many years to find his true love.  He's now 30 but she was worth the wait!  It happened to work out that they're getting married on our 46th wedding anniversary!!  

  I'll be singing at the wedding as I have at our other 2 children's weddings.  I was trained by a professional singer, when I was young, and I have sung at countless weddings but singing at my children's has a bit more stress to do a perfect job that I never felt while singing at any other weddings.  ;)

  So, to have the farm having hope of a crop, because of your prayers, is a joy that I can't put into words and that is not usually hard for me.  :)  It will help to pay for the wedding, too, and all of those baby gifts.  LOL   Did I say that I hosted a baby shower here a few weeks ago?  

  It's always been a joy to be a part of the family of God, these past 57 years, but experiencing your prayers for our farm brings tears of joy as I ponder it.  THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!!

  Dawn

  PS.  I'll see if I can find some pictures of soybean fields with and without rain so you can see the difference.