It hailed....

Hail stones from a nearby suburb where a friend lives

My front yard after the hail storm

Since I had lived in Australia, I couldn’t remember the number of times Sydney had hail-, sand- ,dust-, and windstorm and also flooding rains.  It did not really bothered me .  I was very busy establishing a career then. Also  I had lived then in rented apartment and rented house  built with strong materials that I hardly would know if it was storming or not once the windows and doors were closed. In other words, these dwelling places were sort of sound proof where I would not even hear even a pin drop on the floor.

However, it had been a different story after I bought  a weather board house to live in it.  It was like waking up from a dream to face the reality that storms loom around the corner and without any warning, they just comes when you least expect it.

As I am more of a romanticist, I always see something beautiful not only in trivial and simple things, but also amid a storm.

That's why as soon as the first drop of rain falls, for example, I often rush to the extension of my house where the roof was made of Stratco over which the sound of the rain was like music in my ear. 

Yes, I have always loved rain since  I was a kid.  Somehow,  I am inclined to think that there is a mysterious romance between the sky and the clouds expressed in the  melodious and harmonious melody as the raindrops falls from heaven to water the earth and cause all flowers to bloom, the trees to flourish and every living thing God created to rejoice.

For over two decades that I had lived in Australia, the winter, spring, summer and autumn rains have always brought feelings of joy in my heart and gratitude to God because I had never found myself walking on flood waters.

When I experienced, however, towards the late months of 2011, flooding for four times in my house extension which kept me bucketing out the flood waters till 2 am and  then saw on TV in the early morning news the damage and havoc brought about by these storms,  I  always become frightened whenever rain begins to fall and thunder roars.  I told to myself 'Not again, Lord!  I no longer live in Manila where the slightest rain floods the streets. I now live in this part of Sydney where there had been no reported case of flooding.

No, never until I had this house extension built, the reason being as a result of  the extensive concreting I did in my backyard.  The tradie asked me “Where would you like the water go?”

As bucketing out water from the extension is not in my agenda, as soon as I heard the rain falls or the thunder roars during  a storm forecast, I pray to God as I pray every single day and night to save my Mum and I from flooding.

8 November 2012, it rained.  I went to the extension to listen to it--sadly not to listen to its music but to be aware how big the rains would be.  The drops were not small, but big.  Oh my! I was sure it was hailing.  Funny, however, when I looked through the glass door, I could not see any hail in my courtyard.  I continuously listened to the frightening sound of the hail as they hit my Stratco roof.  I prayed without ceasing to God not to allow the roof to cave in just like it did in one house I saw on TV after a weird storm.

After awhile, the hailing stopped.  I looked out of the window to see how my front yard was.  I saw no hail except the purple blooms in my lawn---much brighter and fresher. WoW!  Thank you Lord!

When I face booked that day I saw a post of a friend who lived just nearby a picture of her yard filled with big hailstones.  Oh my!   Once more, I thank God for His deliverance.

N.B.  If you'd ask me if I still love rain, the answer is a triple YESes.