Opinion: Count your many blessings

Back a few years ago, when I took a quick trip to Pismo Beach, I decided to talk a walk through the town and up on some hills so I could look out over the bay. It was a bit chilly, but walking up the hills kept me warm — that is, until it started to rain. Then, whoosh!

This year, we have been getting some rain like that, we have been getting rain that dumps on a person, and makes that person stagger back to his hotel, wondering what hit it was that hit him.

What reminded me of that was I had stopped at some stores to shop, and in walking around I happened to see a pair of jeans I liked.

I wore them out of the store, and before I had taken many steps, it was as though I had been tossed into a swimming pool, with the jeans on..

I am a person who enjoys rain, even heavy rain, so the rains we have been having hereabouts lately have been just fine with me.

But I have been hearing folks complain about rain, which seems a little odd, considering that rain as we have been getting it is a blessing to us.

My daddy once said to me, “If you get a blessing, be thankful for it.”

That means that when your dog wanders off, then comes back on its own without your having to walk all around the neighborhood looking for it, that’s a blessing.

Now, the dog may look awful, and be soaked to its bones, but it still has come back on its own, and will likely be okay if you towel her down a little.

Your towel won’t smell all that good, at least for a while, but the dog likely will be okay.

That’s a blessing.

When you’re driving around in the rain and the rain is cleaning your car off for free, that’s a blessing. That is, of course, unless you have left one of the windows down.

I was up in Oregon a few weeks ago, and I decided to stop for a cup of coffee at Dutch Brothers. I pulled up to the kiosk, placed my order and got out my money. About that time, the rain started, as it can only start in Oregon. I took my cup of coffee from the barista, handed her the money, then headed down the road.

Why I had not rolled the window back up, I do not know. But I do know this: if you drive down the road in an Oregon rainstorm, you deserve to have wet pants and cold coffee.

But here, it was not quite that bad. In fact, it was pretty good. Let’s all say a little prayer for the nice rain we’ve had lately.

Lord, thank you for that rain we’ve had. We needed the coolness and wetness, so that the crops would start to grow and so that our cars would be washed for free.

What could be better, Lord? Unless, of course, it would be appreciating that free carwash and not griping about it because we just paid to have the car washed, and having remembered to roll your windows up before your pants start to get wet.

Amen.