THE WEATHER

Hello from the land of “it is cold.”  My fellow blog writer, Pastor Larry, http://larry-fromthepastorsdesk.blogspot.com started his blog on weather, but when there is snow in Louisiana, Florida, and my favorite spot, Orange Beach, Alabama, the weather is going to be on everyone’s mind.

The weather often controls our lives and those that report the actual weather and the predicted weather love it when the weather acts up.  Oh the excitement when a storm is coming in and, if it is a tornado or hurricane or a snow storm, the excitement goes to a whole new level.  They are over the top.  People pay attention.  People reorder their lives when they see the weather maps.  The weather reporters are hyped up more than a toddler who ate a whole basket of Easter candy.

This has to be the big one!  Off they go.  Weather reporters travel to small towns and big cities.  They will be ready!  They wait for the front to move in.  They warn people to be ready!  They…

They see the storm front change and the storm does not happen.  The storm of the century becomes a windy day.  The snow is a dusting.  The weather reporters scramble to explain away there was a warning.  And people put their emergency kit back in the closet and try to figure out what they are going to do with the five extra gallons of milk and six extra loaves of bread.  They realize there will be school and they will have to go to work.  There will be no watching TV and no drinking those three extra cases of beer.

Yes, the weather can control our lives.  It determines if there will be school, if it is possible to get to work, if a home will be destroyed or safe, and if lives will be lost.  OR  Weather can mean an amazing day at the beach, a hike through a woods, a successful fishing trip, or a day in the park with the kids.  We pay attention to the actual weather and the predicted weather.  Then we adjust our day accordingly.

“Then we adjust our day accordingly.” My question is: What else do we allow to control our days?

Are we so set to a schedule that we tell a friend we do not have time to talk?

Are we so addicted to our phone that we ignore the people in the room with us?

Are we so self-focused that we do not see the hungry or those in need?

Yes, the weather can control our days, BUT, what about the other things we allow to control our days?  What if we set aside our schedule and took time for our friends?  What if we put our phone down and enjoyed the people in the room with us?  What if we looked outside our small world and actually saw those that are hungry and in need?

BUT, what about the other things we allow to control our days?  What if ________________________?