Weather or not

Perhaps I spoke too soon about spring having arrived here in our area. Last week I was rejoicing at the warm weather and sunshine. This week we have seen nearly every kind of weather imaginable, sometimes all in the same day. There has been bright sunshine, clouds, wind, rain, hail, snow pellets, and snow. I have heard that we set a new record for the latest measurable snow in the Seattle area. At our house, we had a half inch fall in the last few days, and some areas had up to 6 inches accumulate. This is not the mountains that I'm talking about, it's relatively lowland areas. As I write this, pea-sized hail has been falling, and there has been a rain/snow mix off and on all day. Our poor plants do not know quite what to make of the weather, and neither do we!

For the last couple of years, we have planted a vegetable garden and enjoyed harvesting fresh radishes, tomatoes, carrots, corn, and other delicious veggies for the dinner table. Usually we would try to have everything in by now, but with all the cold weather and not enough dry days in a row, it hasn't happened as yet. If the ground is too cold and wet, it's nearly impossible to prepare the soil and get anything planted. Okay, maybe it's possible to plant things, but most plants don't like cold, wet feet any more than we do, so it's not a great idea to plant under those conditions, plus it's pretty miserable work, too.

Weather is one of those things that we simply have no control over. The professional forecasters do their best to let us know what is coming, but they are limited by what they can see on radar and reports from people on the ground to give them input. They can tell us that conditions may be right for something to happen (rain, wind, snow, even tornadoes), but that does not mean it will happen. Many times even the forecasters are surprised by the way the weather turns out; that has certainly been the case here this year.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could see ahead and at least have an idea what was coming our way, not only with the weather but with other things in life? We do our best to scan the horizon and plan out where we are going and what will happen in life, but inevitably surprises come our way, like the April snow. Just when we think we have a pretty good handle on what's coming, something unplanned and unforeseen pops up. What really matters is not how well we plan everything out and keep our lives in control but how we handle the surprises of life. How do we react when something we did not plan for and did not want happens? Where do we turn, and how do we cope?

For those who follow Jesus, we do not have to rely on our own strength and abilities alone to deal with the unexpected. In him, we have a resource who is not surprised by anything that comes our way and who is willing and able to help us respond appropriately. We can whine and complain about the things we have no control over, or we can learn to look for the blessings that may be hidden in them. The snow in April was not exactly what we had planned for or expected, but we can find joy in the wonder and  beauty of the world we live in through it all.

April 20, 2008