..look at me like it's weird to talk to the weather.
Now look at me like you're betting, against all odds, that I have an actual point.
C'mon...
There we go.
Do you guys (and girls and women and men and children that can read) hate the weather? Yeah, I knew it. Wanna know a secret? Well, that's too bad because it's a secret and I'm never gonna tell you. But, do you wanna know something else? Okay!
I hate the weather, too! I think it's pretty dumb. No matter where I've lived, it's always been one thing: hot. Or cold sometimes. And it never rains. But sometimes it rains too much. And gosh I can't wait for it to get cold so I can have a break from all this SWEATY ARMPIT ACTION. But, then again, if it doesn't quit being so cold, I AM LITERALLY GOING TO LIGHT MYSELF ON FIRE!
That's how it goes, right? "Can't wait to get through this season, I'm ready for a change!"
That's all we ever want: something different.
And it's probably even for a good reason. I mean, we all spend lots of time in our cars. Sometimes we don't have A/C in the summer and have to drive with the windows down and show up to work all sweaty. Sometimes our heater doesn't work in the winter and we have to wear 15 layers in the car. No matter what the circumstance is, unless it's 72 degrees with a slight breeze, moderate cloud cover and no rain, we can't be satisfied. Even then, we may throw on a cardigan because, OMG this cardigan is so cute.
The underlying (even overlying) theme is a simple one, and even an old one: we all go through seasons in our life. There are several ways to look at that fact, but I'll focus on two.
"Which two? I wanna know tell me!!!"
K.
So, with the weather having a direct influence on all of our lives at the same time, you'd figure we'd all recognize it. The severity with which we feel the rain, snow, heat affect us ought to cause an empathetic reaction within us for our fellow man (woman, child, etc.). But it doesn't. Maybe it can't? I don't know. Weather isn't the same everywhere. Do you realize that while it's about 4000 degrees fehreinheit in Mobile, AL, it's 64 and rainy in Spokane, and winter or something on the other side of the world? That's nuts!
The weather isn't the same for everyone. It doesn't affect us the same either. Some people have specific allergies because of the weather, others are fine. Some people get really frizzy hair sometimes, which I think is hilarious but they hate it I guess. What the weather does is causes us to look intrinsically and say, "you know what, this really sucks. This is the worst. I. Hate. This. Weather." This situation, this financial crisis, this argument, this goal in life we didn't reach for whatever reason and we are THE ONLY ONES GOING THROUGH IT. Nobody else can feel the heat, the rain, the cold, except us. It's all about us.
That's an easy thing to read and say, "Well yeah I'll just start counting myself lucky cause other people go through tougher stuff" NO.
Don't do that. Don't just think you can write it off and push through alone. You know how people survive hurricanes, wildfires, sharknados? They talk to and listen to people who've been through them! That's smart. That's one of the great things about a body of believers: they're supposed to help. I don't have a million people I can turn to who I know will help me, but I have a group of friends that I trust, and I have a fiancée (bit of a humble brag) who can talk to me, and I have The Word I can turn to.
Jesus is the greatest weather man, "I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world." -John 16:33
Now, the second way we can look at this is with regards to everyone around us. Each person, if we're using the handy-dandy weather illustration, carries their own atmosphere, their own climate, their own problems. And let's say we're believers. "We're believers." Good. Now, knowing what we know about Christ, about His overcoming of the world, about the body of the church and their ability to comfort, we ought to know that we should make a pretty pretty good umbrella.
"Hey, I'm not an umbrella!"
But you can be. You can be THE BEST umbrella. Or fortified structure, or bathtub, or, like, water or whatever keeps people safe from fire, idk fire is scary. The point is that we can be of great help to someone who needs it.
"What's up, moon? How's it going, pollen? Great to see you, tropical depression!"
-Levi
