overcast and thoughtful

today it's overcast in zambia.  it feels like rain.  though if the dry season is true to its name, as it usually is, we won't see rain for another 2 months at least.

i have to admit, i miss the rain something dreadful, but today provides a glimpse of the real thing with its cloudy gray sky and cool crisp breeze.

it made for a thoughtful morning as i walked to the market in my oversized sweatshirt and leggings to buy talk time for my phone and then to the school to map out a plan for a mural on the baby class (preschool) wall.  

to onlookers i was buried in my dictionary sized book turning each page with expectant wonder as the plot to the novel rapidly approached it's climax.

oh if they only knew how my mind was flitting from thought to plot to prayer to plot again.

it was good.

i can almost feel guilty at how good it felt to walk, read, pray, and think without rushing towards the finish line of another project.

but then i think of my Jesus.  i think of how He never rushed towards the end but walked steadily, knowing when to rest and when to press on, taking necessary time to escape with His Father.

too often i forget.  too often i see the need around me and feel the necessity to respond to it without taking time to respond to my Father.  

so today i welcome the clouds and the melancholia that so often accompanies the weather.  today i am taking time to think and pray... and maybe even finish my book.

taken past the two gates on the edge of our property
looking down the street where i live.