May It’s a Bit Too Hot
Psalm 145:8,9
“The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all and his mercy is over all that he has made.”
Things are supposed to change today. We are going to feel the difference, apparently, this afternoon and tomorrow and on Sunday.
Summer temperatures.
“The Lord is good to all and his mercy is over all the he has made.” I am going to say that in the warm sunshine.
Here is the thing, though; I am so finicky sometimes about the temperature that I am already wondering if I will think that it is too hot when it hits 26 degrees. Can you be like this? Maybe not at 26 degrees, but certainly at 30. This weekend, what if you wear the wrong shirt? What if you go for a walk and you haven’t adjusted yet to the reality of the heat and you put on too many layers and then you complain a bit that it is too hot?
Even when things move in a positive directions, when the change is significant it can send us for a loop. I remember speaking to a friend once who had gone through months and months of terribly difficult treatment for breast cancer. She had not been sure that she would survive. We prayed for her and family and friends rallied round. Not long after she was declared cancer free I spoke with her about how she was feeling. Of course she said that she was overwhelmingly grateful, but she mentioned something else as well. She said that since the declaration of physical health, she had struggled with mental health. It is not always easy to come out of the desert. We get used to the times of difficulty or struggle. We find ways to cope. We adopt defense mechanisms. We find emotional guards against the threats. Sometimes we find ways to gear down mentally and emotionally.
And then the sun comes out. And it can take our eyes a while to adjust.
And we don’t know just what to wear in the seemingly sudden summerish heat.
Dear God;
Thank you for your goodness. I know that you are good, even now. Show me, by way of these next few days both joy at the blessing of such great weather and insight at the struggle it can be to emerge from the deserts in our lives. I pray that we, anticipating some kind of re-start and renewal in the months ahead would know that you call us out to live fully in your goodness. We have been focused on threats and dangers for many days now. Show us that there will be a time when, even if it’s not like it was, we are being led to awareness of blessing and life and sunlight and warmth.
In Jesus’ Name
Amen.
