Storm
I couldn't tell if the sky was dark because the sun was setting or because the storm clouds were rolling in. It was almost 8:00, and my dad and I were driving home with the windows rolled down. I could taste the humidity. The whole world had a stormy tint to its color. The trees blew back and forth, and it was like they knew the rain was coming.
"I love the weather right before a storm." I told my dad as I let my hand catch tiny raindrops out the window.
I wonder if "bad" weather is something we learn - something we are taught by our culture. My friend once told me about a place in the dusty desert that gets very little rain. When the rain does come, all the people go outside to play. From the youngest to the oldest, they all come out just to get their clothes and bodies soaking wet. That's their "day at the park". The joy we find in a warm, sunny, cloudless day is the same joy they find in the rain. What causes us to stay inside begs them to come out.
So I wonder, are we taught that rainy weather is bad weather? Is the fear we feel behind a storm a learned behavior? What if we were taught from the youngest age that rainy days are the beautiful days and that storms are displays of marvelous splendor? Then would we all come out to play in the rain?
I also wonder about the other kind of storms - the storms of trouble, hardship, loneliness, loss, regret, guilt, fear. We cower and tremble at these storms. We run and hide. We stay inside. Is this, too, a learned behavior? Something we are taught because of what we have observed and heard our whole lives?
What if we changed out culture, our mindset, and our way of thinking? What if we began to see even those storms as opportunities to dance in the rain? What if we weren't afraid to get wet or mess up our hair or get our cars dirty? We could begin to see the power and the beauty of the storm. And the God who works in all and through all.
"I love the weather right before a storm." I told my dad as I let my hand catch tiny raindrops out the window.
I paused. "Actually, I love the weather in the storm, too."
I thought about raindrops on my window making music. I thought about the distant rumblings of thunder and the lightning like fireworks. Something about storms makes me want to crawl into a warm blanket and rest. Something about storms makes me want to rest in the arms of God.
"I like that," Dad replies as he, too, watches the sky turn gray. "The weather in the storm. There's a good principle in that."
We smile and eagerly anticipate the rain. We will both get good rest tonight.
"I love the weather right before a storm." I told my dad as I let my hand catch tiny raindrops out the window.
~~~~~
I wonder if "bad" weather is something we learn - something we are taught by our culture. My friend once told me about a place in the dusty desert that gets very little rain. When the rain does come, all the people go outside to play. From the youngest to the oldest, they all come out just to get their clothes and bodies soaking wet. That's their "day at the park". The joy we find in a warm, sunny, cloudless day is the same joy they find in the rain. What causes us to stay inside begs them to come out.
So I wonder, are we taught that rainy weather is bad weather? Is the fear we feel behind a storm a learned behavior? What if we were taught from the youngest age that rainy days are the beautiful days and that storms are displays of marvelous splendor? Then would we all come out to play in the rain?
I also wonder about the other kind of storms - the storms of trouble, hardship, loneliness, loss, regret, guilt, fear. We cower and tremble at these storms. We run and hide. We stay inside. Is this, too, a learned behavior? Something we are taught because of what we have observed and heard our whole lives?
What if we changed out culture, our mindset, and our way of thinking? What if we began to see even those storms as opportunities to dance in the rain? What if we weren't afraid to get wet or mess up our hair or get our cars dirty? We could begin to see the power and the beauty of the storm. And the God who works in all and through all.
~~~~~
"I love the weather right before a storm." I told my dad as I let my hand catch tiny raindrops out the window.
I paused. "Actually, I love the weather in the storm, too."
I thought about raindrops on my window making music. I thought about the distant rumblings of thunder and the lightning like fireworks. Something about storms makes me want to crawl into a warm blanket and rest. Something about storms makes me want to rest in the arms of God.
"I like that," Dad replies as he, too, watches the sky turn gray. "The weather in the storm. There's a good principle in that."
We smile and eagerly anticipate the rain. We will both get good rest tonight.
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