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Posts Tagged ‘weather’

I’ll Take It By the Drip, Please

Posted in Conflict, Creation, Daily Life, Motorcycling, Prayer, The Christian Life, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 30, 2013| Leave a Comment »

MP900049751[1]Ahhh – sunshine.  A commodity my home town is famous for but which has been in short supply these past few weeks. Instead, we’ve had rain.  Lots of rain.

But this morning I’m looking out the large window of my office at clear blue skies and sun so bright it is glistening off the still wet grass and kissing the trees until their leaves wiggle in delight.

I am looking forward to our Saturday ride – finally. So far this year it’s been cold, windy, overcast or rainy. Not every ride has been completely miserable but close. So I have a habit of praying at the start of each ride, “God, if I have to be cold or wet at least let me see something amazing along the way.” And He is always faithful to answer.

A couple of weeks ago as I was hunkered down shivering I spotted two large bald eagles, a male and a female, perched high in a tall pine tree. They just sat there like they owned the world, guarding their nest and watching us with haughty eyes as if laughing at our silly venture.

Last week as I was dodging raindrops I spotted a beautiful buck deer still in the velvet but already showing about 4 points on each side standing knee deep in a field. As if the sight of him wasn’t a breathtaking enough, next to him was a sleek and graceful doe and her young fawn. The whole family just standing there watching us roar by, reminding us there’s more to life than racing down a highway.

This weekend the weather is forecast to be in the mid eighties with clear skies and sunshine. I’m finally looking forward to the ride because I know the hills will dressed in green and flowers will be popping their colorful heads to bask in the beautiful day.

Pondering on this fact I realized the reason the scenery will be so beautiful on Saturday is because of the amount of rain we’ve had this spring.

And that led me to understand just how God answered my prayer these past weeks. I thought the amazing things he wanted me to see were the eagles and the family of deer grazing.  Actually, He was letting me see how He never focuses on a single moment in answering my prayers. He looks at the entire picture of my life and provides in such a way that I experience Him over and over and over.

I heard a comment in a training session I attended a few days ago and it has stayed with me. The comment came from a farmer’s prospective.  “Drip irrigation beats a flash flood any day.”

God is definitely a drip irrigation kind of guy, providing a steady stream of what we need rather than giving us everything in a flash flood. The rain drops I dodged two weeks ago will result in miles and miles of enjoyment in days to come.

I am reminded not to take everything I see at face value. When God answers prayer He doesn’t do it to gratify a momentary need. He does in such a way as to provide a better path moving forward and a greater impact on my future.

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater  Isaiah 55:10

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Predictably Unpredictable

Posted in Daily Life, Friendship, Marriage, Motorcycling, The Christian Life, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 9, 2013| 1 Comment »

MP900313893[1]April in the Pacific Northwest – a season where every day is a surprise package to be opened while doing early spring gardening in a short sleeved shirt or huddled in flannels around the fire.

Since there’s no snow on the ground, April is also Harley riding weather for my bike addicted husband. And, because six days of my week are crazy busy coming and going while trying to catch quick conversations and hugs with him along the way, Saturday is togetherness day. And you can’t get much more together than paired up on a Harley Davidson motorcycle.

We’ve been out a few times this year and come home exhilarated though chilled to the bone. But this past Saturday topped them all.

The weather forecast was not promising, but who trusts the weatherman? Standing in the driveway and doing a 360 degree scan was a bit disheartening. Dark clouds pretty much defined the landscape in every direction.  But dark clouds don’t always produce rain, right? Things can change, right?

Change they did. Within the first fifteen miles of the ride I accepted that the several layers of clothing I had on were not going to be enough to keep me warm.

The wind picked up a few miles after that, building from strong gusts to gale force.

The rain hit shortly after that. Not a deluge thank goodness, just the miserable drizzle that collects on your collar and drips down your neck. Oh the glory.

And the crowning jewel of the day – a stinging hail storm. Is there anything worse than hail hitting you in the face as you fly down the road with no choice but to keep going until you can outrun it?

To add insult to injury, we couldn’t take our normal route home, meandering along the river where you might at least see an eagle, a herd of bighorn sheep or a graceful doe sheltering under an evergreen. That route was closed for an annual marathon. Instead, we were forced to take the freeway.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned before how much I hate traveling the freeway on a motorcycle. I don’t like the speed, the traffic, or the fact that you can’t see much because you are going too fast and paying too much attention to that traffic. I will always choose a slower, winding route if I have a choicem which I didn’t.

As rides go, this one had everything – everything I dislike anyway. In fact, on a scale of one to ten, this one was too far below the line to register. Somewhere in the last half hour of that ride I promised myself a new Saturday entertainment activity. I said to myself I would never climb aboard again unless the stars came together in perfect alignment and guaranteed 80 degree weather and a cloudless sky. I decided then and there to sell my backseat to some other woman with the fortitude and tolerance to take my place.

But once home and ensconced in front of the pellet stove, a hot cup of coffee in my hand  and blood finally flowing again, I started to remember things like:

  • Landscapes seen from the back of a bike where the colors are more vivid because of the overdose of fresh air coursing through my veins
  • Surprises like spotting a wide eyed fawn peeking out from behind a tall stand of grass, an osprey dive bombing a trout and flapping its wings in victory, sunbreaks through clouds, swaying grain fields, …
  • The euphoric feel of sunshine on bare arms that are wrapped around my one constant in life – a man who loves more than anything just having me there with him
  • Laughter and experiences shared with traveling buddies that are retold and elaborated upon year after year
  • New roads we’ve never traveled and old roads that hold familiarity like long time friends  

We’ve had so many great experiences from the back of that bike that far outshine the few wet, cold, miserable rides which I’m sure are thrown in to help me appreciate the others.

Here’s to another season of road miles and smiles, sunshine and shadows, good friends, long days and lots and lots of memory making.

“On a good day, enjoy yourself; On a bad day, examine your conscience. God arranges for both kinds of days so that we won’t take anything for granted.” Ecclesiastes 7:14 (msg)

 

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What Mother Nature and Satan Have in Common

Posted in Daily Life, The Christian Life, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 8, 2013| 2 Comments »

I was definitely not cut out for this climate. I have an internal thermostat that registers cold until the external thermostat registers at least 75 degrees. However, I do enjoy living in an area where we have four definite seasons so I’m willing to put up with winter temps.

What I do not appreciate is when Mother Nature decides to tease us into believing the season has turned when it really hasn’t. I know she gets a big kick out of it but I don’t.

I take it very personally. I believe she has singled me out and it is a challenge this time of year for her to coax me out of my turtleneck. She starts with a burst of sunshine after several days of cloud cover. I’m at my desk looking out the window and that sunshine just begs me to come outside and play.

But when I step outside, it is not nice warm sunshine. It is frigid, bone chilling, laughing-at-me sunshine. I can hear Mother Nature chuckle.

Her next ploy is the weatherman. I listen to the report on the morning news and it promises a beautiful 60 degree day. Since we’ve had weeks of 30˚ and 40˚ weather, 60˚ sounds positively balmy. I decide to leave my coat at home since I certainly won’t need it later in the day. Wrong! Aside from fooling me, Mother Nature’s next favorite thing is making a fool of the weatherman.

The trick that irritates me the most of hers is lulling. She is a master at it and you’d think by now I’d have figured that out.  Maybe it’s my blonde or maybe it’s my age.  Whatever it is, I’m better than a Saturday Night Live rerun for making her roll on the floor in hysterics.

Just this last month she pulled her little lulling routine on us. It was February and we all know that February in the Pacific Northwest is technically and literally still winter.   But we had clear skies and 60˚ for several days in a row. I was skeptical at first but after about the 5th day I was lulled into believing winter was over and spring had sprung.

I actually left the turtleneck off and donned a silk blouse twice during that time. I eyed my closet and almost – not quite but almost – started moving the wool skirts downstairs and the lighter ones upstairs. I even got complacent about wearing the undershirt I always put on under my turtleneck.

That changed this week when I woke up to a light snowfall and temperatures in the 30’s again. I could hear that old woman roaring as I rushed back inside for an undershirt, sweater, coat and gloves.

I’m done. I’m not letting her do that to me again. I’ve circled March 20 on my calendar as the official first day of spring and I’ve freshened up all my long sleeve sweaters, tights and wool blazers. I don’t care how much the sun shines or the temperature rises, it’s winter until at least March 20 and even then I’m going to be cautious!

Oh, and by the way, Mother Nature isn’t the only one who has mastered the trick of lulling. Satan is great at it also. He loves to stand back and watch us settle into complacency and become lax about putting on the (under)armor.

So here’s my caution for today. Don’t trust first impressions or first glimpses. Just because it looks good doesn’t mean it is good. Prove it out by going to the Word and letting God tell you how to dress for the season. Unlike the weatherman, He’s always right.

God sets clear boundaries for where we can go and where we cannot go. The Christian life requires that we do not get complacent about those boundaries or get lulled into thinking things have changed when they haven’t. All may look bright and sunny. We may think we are stronger than we really are. But we will soon discover that going out without a coat will leave us vulnerable to the elements, one of which is the bitter bite of the devil.

Be sober, be vigilant: because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8

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My Window of Contentment

Posted in The Christian Life, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 6, 2012| 1 Comment »

I have been complaining about the weather since the first promise of spring peeked its head around a tiny green sprout in my garden.  I’m cold most of the time so warm weather is my friend.  To me, spring is the first sign that I will soon stop shivering and huddling under a fleece blanket wherever I go.

The problem with spring is that it is only a distant hint of warmer weather.  The first tempting day of sunshine is followed by rain, wind, more wind and cool temps.  (To me cool is anything under 75 degrees.)  We start riding the motorcycle once the snow is gone and it’s a science for me to dress with enough layers.  I’m usually in an undershirt, shirt, shirt over that shirt, sweatshirt, wool sweater and leather coat.  I peel like an onion as the temperature rises.

This week we finally hit 80 degrees.  I can actually go without a sweater and I love it.  Of course, our crazy climate doesn’t settle on comfortable and stay there.  Today its 85, tomorrow is predicted for 100, Sunday 101 and Monday 104!  By Sunday I’ll be complaining again.  Too hot.

It just seems like that’s our pattern, doesn’t it?  Very few days or events or situations are perfect.  Once in a while a golden one comes along and we are content.  Most of the time it’s too stressful, too peaceful, too quiet, too loud, too short, too long, too dark, too light, too many people, too lonely – you get the message.  Contentment is not as easy to achieve as it should be.

Adam and Eve struggled with it in the Garden.  Everything was perfect except for that one little tree that was off limits.  The Israelites wrote the book on discontentment.  They rejoiced in their escape until they met their first obstacle.  They were thankful for manna until they got tired of it.  They were committed to God until tempted to worship something else.  David thought he was content until he saw Bathsheba. 

If every day were perfect, God would not have had to instruct us to give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thess 5:19). If every day were perfect, He would not have had to tell us not to fear or be dismayed (Is 41:10).  In fact, if everything were perfect all the time at least half the Bible could be eliminated.

Instead, God gives us a scattering of absolutely wonderful, beautiful, shimmering moments interspersed among the day to day challenges so we can recognize what a gift they are.  Sandwiched between life’s stumbling blocks they are streams in the desert, nourishment to a bruised heart, sunlight reaching through the cloud cover.  But – without the desert, the bruising and the cloud cover, we’d never recognize the gift.

I’m challenging myself to strike two expressions from my vocabulary this year.  “It’s too cold” and “It’s too hot.”  I’m doing it to remind myself to be content in all things. 

All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast. Prov 15:15

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