I woke this morning to the sound of booming thunder and the crashing effect of lightening striking. Literally crashing – the windows were rattling and the light shades and fan covers fell down from the bathroom ceiling! All I could do as I swept up the shards was pray, “Please God, don’t let this start a grass fire in the hay field!”

Then – there was the sound, the first little splat of a big, fat, drop of rain hitting the bathroom window. Then another, and another and another! Praise the Lord, it’s raining! Rain in August is a rare thing in this corner of Texas. By this time of the year we are so totally parched that the grass and trees have gone dormant, and the coyotes are out hunting pets because all the rabbits have either starved to death or gone underground in self defense against the heat and lack of grassy nourishment.

We got a good soaking, and I could just hear the ground sigh with relief.

I woke up in a foul mood this morning. Top that with misplaced sunglasses (teen #2 had them), keys missing (husband took them by mistake) and an empty coffee canister (totally my fault!); well, you get the picture. It wasn’t pretty.

I finally made it to work, grab my maps and head south for a site visit. I was not looking forward to it, not one little bit. At 8:30 am it was already 97 degrees outside, and the temperature was only going to rise. I drove onto the freeway, only to slow to a creeping crawl within two minutes. What else could possibly go wrong today?

Then, I saw it. The train. It was gliding across the overhead tracks, just as unconcerned as you please, slow and steady, getting to where it was going. There were four big engines, and then hundreds of freight cars, each spattered with colorful grafitti. I instantly thought of my Mom driving us around when I was a kid. When we went under a train bridge, she yelled “TRAIN!” and we all put our hands on the ceiling of the car to hold up the train. If we crossed railroad tracks, she yelled, “TRACKS”, and we all lifted our feet off the floor of the car. I play the same games with my kids today.

The sight of that train in the midst of a very trying morning was just perfect. It made me smile.

It’s one of the gifts in life that just works for me. I read in the paper this mornin that there is more and more research touting the BENEFITS of chocolate, especially dark chocolate. I’m thankful that somewhere in time, someone had the insane idea to roast a cocoa bean and process it until they had an edible chocolate bar. I’m thankful that I can run to WalMart and buy some pretty decent chocolate when I need a fix. I’m thankful that the Sweet Shop is right here in my hometown, so that I can indulge in some amazing chocolate confections when I really, Really need to.

Thank You, God, for chocolate!