Weather

 Good morning, and welcome to this Thursday Thought.

A few evenings ago, the weather was cloudy with a good chance of rain and some wind.  I was watching the weather report on the late news.  The weather person said there was a gust front of wind just to the west of Wichita, moving into the metro area.  Just behind that gust front was a thunderstorm also moving in.

Rather than staying inside while the wind and rain came in, I went outside to experience the change in wind direction, wind speed, and temperature as the gust front moved through.  I didn’t have long to wait.  The wind went calm for just a few seconds, then began picking up steam from a different direction, gradually increasing in speed.  The temperature fell several degrees, and the smell of the air was noticeably different…it smelled of a rain shower.

And, even though it was dark, I could see some very low-level clouds go by in the reflected city light.  The lightning soon came along with thunder…then the first of the rain drops.  I went back inside and let the storm come on through.

I don’t know if you’ve ever done something like that.  I like to be outside and watch those kinds of weather changes come along.  There’s something about being out in the weather when a change comes that makes me grateful to be alive to experience it.

One of the more recent autumns, the air had been muggy, warm, and sticky for many days.  We were well into October, I think, but had not had any push of cooler air from the north to drive out the sticky, muggy air from the south.  I had heard on the weather report one evening that a cold front was coming through and was just about to Wichita.  The front was to bring much cooler temperatures, much less humidity, and the promise of colder weather ahead.  I went outside and just waited for the front to show up at our house.

I didn’t have to wait long.  The wind from the south slowed down rapidly, became calm for about 20 seconds, then the first whiffs of the cooler air came to me along with a change in wind direction.  For a few seconds, the muggy, humid air mixed with the cooler air, but eventually the cool air won, and I knew the warm, muggy days of that autumn were over, probably for the next several months.  I noticed a real internal sense of change in my mind…knowing that it would no longer be as it had been for so long…that winter was indeed coming.

The weather has always been something I’ve enjoyed keeping up with and learning about…even the uncomfortable hot and cold weather…the snowy, icy, rainy weather…the wind…the hail…and yes, even the severe weather.  It’s just something I’ve done over the years, and probably will continue to do until I no longer can.

But there’s a little more to this than just enjoying keeping up with the weather.  Weather often reminds me of things spiritual.  No, I don’t believe the weather itself is some kind of god or spiritual entity.  But I do believe that the God of the universe created the weather especially for the earth…that what happens is intentional and ultimately for the good of the creation.  I believe God can and sometimes does intervene in weather situations…often, I think, in response to the fervent prayers of righteous people.

Observing and learning about the weather, especially on a part of the earth known for extremes, is often for me an exercise in worship and thanksgiving, gratefulness and praise.  I see the power of a thunderstorm in the lightning and wind, or the results of a badly-needed rain in the growth of plants and cleansing of the environment.  I marvel at times at how even weather phenomena such as hurricanes actually help preserve the environment.  As I understand it, among other things, they move heat energy from one place to another and cause beneficial rains and other forms of weather that are actually good for the earth as a whole.  Yes, they can be destructive when they move over places built up by humans.  But they also can and are very beneficial to the environment and the climate of the earth.

The weather is just one aspect of the creation that God has beautifully and perfectly put together…for his own glory as well as for the benefit of mankind and all the rest of the creation.  We need to respect the power and destructive potential of the winds and rains.  But we also need to thank God for His provision and care as we watch His handiwork continue to unfold in the clouds, the rains, the winds, and the snows.

May God bless you this week as you continue to serve Him.