Praying for rain

It seems like every conversation these days comes around to "and we really need some rain" sooner or later. As for myself, I don't much mind that my yard is dry (my neighbors might feel differently), but it's a much bigger deal for farmers. (My basil seems to need something, but I'm not sure if lack of rain would make the leaves turn purplish.)

So it's interesting that this coming Sunday's gospel reading is the story from Mark 4 where Jesus calms the waves during a big storm. It seems a bit ironic, since around here, most folks seem to be hoping for a bit of a storm! It's an interesting twist on the old metaphors--usually we think of storms as times of trial, things to be avoided--but sometimes a good storm is what you need.

I'm not sure if any of this will affect my preaching this week. We'll see.

~Pastor Sarah