From the Home Place

6/9/2026

At 3:30 a.m. the thermometer is holding at 58 degrees, with wind gust running from 20-48 mph! Today’s high will be in the upper 80’s and the wind will continue to howl. And in case you were wondering about the mega-storms yesterday, they all traveled east of us, leaving this area high and dry once again.

Friends, this drought thing is really serious around here. As we are all aware of, Wyoming is the least populated state in the nation. Well, Niobrara County (in which we live) is the least populated county in the state. There are four times as many cattle within this county as there are people, and the cattle are quickly running out of grass. I know many ranchers who are buying extremely expensive hay to feed their cattle who should be out on summer pastures full of green grass. But not this year, there isn’t any green grass because we haven’t received any rain. As such, the old grass that was left from last year is also gone. This area is in serious need of lots of rain!

In Matthew 6, we read about Jesus teaching His disciples how to pray effectively. In verse 8 Jesus tells these men, “Your Father in Heaven knows what you need before you ask of Him.” Quite simply, God knows of our need of rain, yet for whatever reason He is using this drought to teach us about Himself.

In the book of Genesis, we find a man named Abram (later to be called Abraham). Abram was a man of great faith. A man who had left the security of his homeland to go to a place that was unknown to him, just because God told him to “go.” After a long period of time, Abram, his wife and their clan finally reached the land of Cannan, the place where God called them to “go” to.

Shortly after arriving in the land God had promised to give to Abram and his descendants, God allows a drought to grip the land, forcing Abram to move his livestock and his people to Egypt in hopes of survival. While in Egypt Abram runs into more troubles and eventually returns to Cannan after learning some very important lessons about God’s grace and man’s tendency toward sin..

Now, I’m not exactly sure why God has allowed a severe drought to grip this land, but I am quite sure that He has a purpose for it. God never wastes an opportunity to teach His children! One of the many lessons the Christians around here are learning is that they have been extremely blessed in past years as God has provided an abundance of green grass and hay for the cattle and other critters. Perhaps all of us have taken green grass (God’s blessing) for granted in the past?

It may also be that we have failed to praise God constantly for His provision during the good years that came before this year. With the years of plentiful grass, and the high prices for cattle, most every rancher has been running the maximum number of cattle possible on his place. Well now with the drought, those excess cattle are going to market by the thousands.

You see my friends, whether you are a rancher, or make your living at a 9-5 job, God expects us to be good stewards of His many blessings. In Luke 12:16-21 Jesus tells a parable that could probably be applied to our lives. Could it be that we have become so focused upon the good that God has granted, that we have possibly failed to prepare for the worst? The farmer in this parable kept enjoying the riches of his land yet failed to keep his life in a proper prospective of eternity.

In the biblical past, God has used drought to move His people to places where He wanted them to be. Perhaps God is using today’s drought here in Niobrara County, Wyoming to once again move His people, not to a new location, but to a new understanding that it sure is easy to take God’s blessings for granted.

Today, stop and thank our Heavenly Father for His many blessings, you know, like friends and family. Shower Him with praise for who He is and for all that He has blessed you with, especially for the great blessing of salvation in Jesus; and for His kindness of sending rain!

Understanding that trials are often treasures with you, Neal