One of my favourite poems by Erin Hanson. Thanking God for the rain. Answered prayers for many of us, especially farmers who need it the most. It's still October but today marks the official start of the wet season. 

You were born to be a rainstorm, 

To send your voice throughout the night, 

To sing your song with falling raindrops, 

To break the darkness with your light, 

You were born to show raw beauty,

To wash the dirt from their eyes, 

But the whole world ran for cover 

When you open up your skies 

So you made your thunder silent, 

And learnt to bite your rainy tongue, 

You gave them what they thought they wanted, 

You gave them life with endless sun,

But as they watched their lives grow weaker, 

Watched as their leaves turned brown and dry, 

They wish they didn't take it for granted, 

Your blooming presence in the sky, 

You were born to be a rainstorm,

To be chaotic and be bold,

To show there's beauty in the knowledge,

That you cannot be controlled,

Because you might think you are not needed, 

Life without is the same,

But nothing beautiful would ever grow

If it wasn't washed with rain

It's good that it came a bit early as the fields at Tuanaimato were turning brown and the greens at the golf course, were not remaining green. How was your week?

As I wake up to singing and bathing birds outside my door with the rain on my roof, I am thankful for life. Eight more Saturdays before Christmas! What an eventful year full of blessings and challenges. It's not over yet.

Water has its own magic. According to a sixth-century B.C. philosopher, Thales, water is the primary substance of all beings. He stated that water was the most unusual substance if, for no other reason, it was the only one to exist on Earth in three different phases. Solid, liquid and gaseous, simultaneously. Water was the original substance of the universe out of which everything is created and to which everything returns. For Christianity, God is the source and dust is the substance. From dust to dust.

Water not only has a cleansing effect, it comes with renewal. When it rains, the sky changes colour and the air becomes cooler. After it has done its thing, the scene immediately changes again, water drops on the window and little puddles for birth paths on the pavement. Just like the challenges of life. 

The atmosphere may change to stress and worry or even anxiety but after the storms, there is a calmness in renewal. Like the battle that has been won. So while we enjoy another peaceful Sunday in Samoa, remember these elements and the one who created them. Manuia le Sapati!

• Enid Westerlund Samuelu is an aviation specialist, business consultant and author who loves to share stories and write children’s books.