I’m thinking about the weather again today. The forecast says we are warming up, and we will soon (maybe today) begin to think summer has arrived. But as Lee Corso likes to say, “not so fast my friend!”. Just wait a day or two, and the seasons will again change and we will soon be wrapping up again for at least parts of a day or two to come.
This time of year the weather is chaotic. We jokingly say, but as we know every good joke has elements of truth in them, we experience all four seasons sometimes in the same day here in the south. Or, we might also say “don’t like the weather? Wait a few hours.”
The unpredictability can be frustrating, but the rapid changes can produce an awareness of expectation, and a need to always be prepared. This time of year probably produces the most damaging storms, infrequent but powerful. This time of year also sees the fish biting too, and the grass growing (and the weeds too!). When this rhythm of change becomes normal and expected, our behavior becomes peacefully adaptive. We just roll with it, and embrace the variety.
Our lives have seasons, and within those seasons we will experience some rapid changes. We will even experience some really strong storms too. Just like the weather, when we understand it and are prepared for it, we might find the moment scary but we manage much better than if we are surprised by the rapid change. In life, unpreparedness for the rapid changes one might experience can leave us shell-shocked, paralyzed, and wounded.
As we walk our paths through life, we should be attentive to the possibilities we might encounter. If we know the rain is coming, we can suit up and grab the umbrella. If we don’t know the rain is coming, we can get drenched and brought into misery. The one thing we can not do is stop the rain.
When I was a child, we used to have various drills that prepared us in the event of significant weather. Everyone of a certain age knows what it’s like to stuff themselves under their desks. These drills did not consume our lives, our thoughts, or our outlook on the world. They just prepared us in case we found ourselves in those particular situations.
We would be wise to drill ourselves occasionally for the potential hazards along our paths. Not so the concerns and possibilities consume us, but rather that they prepare us. Not to worry us, but to protect us. Because when the storms of life hit, you’d rather already be under shelter and protected.
Consider our verse for today, Mark 13:33 (ESV):
Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.
Almighty and Most Merciful Father, the peace of the moment is a blessing when it comes, but can tempt us to believe it shall always be; keep us on guard, help us stay awake in Thee, prepare our hearts for the storms that may come, and the ever-changing moments of life; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who with Thee and the Holy Spirit are One God, world without end. AMEN.