Tags
accept, Ahab, Elijah, prophets, severe weather, spirit, thankful, The Sophia Center for Spirituality
Yesterday our area of New York State was scheduled to have severe thunderstorms. We felt the heaviness in the air all day but meteorologists kept moving back the time of the storm’s arrival. In the end, from what we have heard, others not far from us did experience much more than the few claps of thunder and one dazzling lightning bolt that was the extent of the storm here in Windsor at about 9:00 in the evening.
Today’s first lectionary text is remarkably similar as we hear Elijah warning Ahab to prepare to evacuate because of impending heavy rain. I think I’ll leave that line of thought for tomorrow as the tract that follows is one that deserves a deep bow of spirit. It is notable, however, that the weather and other conditions of the natural world were of concern in the age of the prophets just as today.
This morning I look out to see sun-dried beauty on the large maple across the yard and hear the birds who are most likely happy that their habitat has not been damaged in the least. I have pictures in my mind of the far western states where fires burn out of control and evacuations of residents are now mandatory. While losing a home is preferable to losing one’s life, the distress of the former can be monumental, especially when fire has reduced everything to ashes.
As I think of how lucky I am to live in the northeast, it occurs to me that a few months ago death and destruction from brutal snowstorms plagued states up and down the east coast while the west was enjoying good weather. It is all so unpredictable these days and having come this far in today’s post, I have no place to go now. I prefer not to rant about global warming or dwell on the innocence of the wind and the sun in all of this. Perhaps the conclusion calls for introspection – as usual. My willingness to accept what is in every moment, to be prepared in times of danger, to help others when disaster comes, to rejoice in the sunny, beautiful days like today and to thank God for all the gifts of the natural world – all of this – is enough to take with me through this day.
The Sophia Center for Spirituality 
This post reminds me of a line in the middle of the Serenity prayer: “…living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it to be, trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will.”