Picture of the day - July 26, 2007

A Heavenly view of Widener Valley, Virginia

We have had a much drier spring and summer than usual here in southwestern Virginia, and the middle of July found us in desperate need of some of the late afternoon thunderstorms that typically roll through our region on virtually a daily basis this time of year. Well finally, after much hope and prayer, the last few days have been quite rainy and much of the precious water has fallen at a pace just slow enough to allow it to seep into the ground instead of simply "running off" and ending up in the sea. With all the clouds, unseasonably cool temperatures and chilly rain we have had thus far this week, it was rather nice to walk out the front door of our church yesterday evening and see the scene featured in today's picture. It was around 8:00pm, and the clouds had parted just enough to allow the setting sun to paint this lovely picture on the Widener Valley landscape. With scenery like this it's easy to see why the founders of Pleasant View Baptist Church decided to give their new house of worship that beautiful name! But even after all of the recent rainfall, we're still far behind the normal amount for this time of year. Many of the farmers in our region are struggling to finish the growing season with a decent crop, and a close look at this photograph reveals that the leaves on a lot of the trees are already changing colors because of the drought. I guess it looks like we just might be in for an early fall. But our Heavenly Father is a merciful God, and in typical fashion it appears that He is giving us just what we need, just when we need it the most!   Visit the POTD Archives for previous "Pictures Of The Day"!     Submit a photo of your own!            Why I publish the "Picture of the Day"