For we live by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV)
I rarely watch television news. It is too depressing. I glance at the newspaper at work every morning and see enough of the headlines to know what’s going on. That is sad enough. As I left for work this morning, husband, who since he retired now watches the news while he drinks his morning coffee and I scurry around picking up the house and getting ready for work, warned me that we are in for some rain. Normally, in Florida, in the summer that is not unusual news. We generally have rain every day, mostly in the afternoons. But, according to the forecasters, we are in for some severe weather with almost 90% chance of rain. Even beyond the weekend, the weather prediction for our area does not look good for as many as five days out. Unless of course, you are a frog. The ditches will be full of water, perfect for laying eggs and swimming tadpoles. The news channels are doing their usual squawking about weather, wind, rip currents and tornados. They have even thrown in the possibility of a tropical storm to stir the pot although all the weather maps put it way out into the Atlantic. Flood warnings! Take cover! The sky is falling! My five day forecast and plans do not include rain. A riding lesson tomorrow morning. Time spent with husband and friends. Service dog training for Cory. I have places to go and people to see. Heavy rain is only going to make it more complicated, but I won’t let it stop me. Time to get out the rubber shoes and rain gear. To run from house to car and back again with my head tucked down and my glasses fogged up. I might get a little wet, but I won’t melt. Weeks ago, when I made these plans, who would have thought that the weather would be so complicated? It’s funny how we envision blue skies when we look into the future. Clear weather, money in our pockets, good health, happiness. That is what we dream the future will hold. But, the skies are not always blue. How we react to the possibility of trouble is telling about our character and beliefs. I don’t worry about the weather, but I do worry about a lot of other things. Sometimes, anxiety threatens to swamp my life like stormy seas. If I let myself wallow with the frogs in the ditches of life, I get tangled up in thoughts and fears like weeds that would pull me under. What keeps me moving forward even when my glasses are so steamed up I cannot see through them? Faith. Just putting one foot in front of the other reaching forward for the door handle. Eventually, I will get to the door. I might arrive with water streaming down my back, hair wet and clothing soaked, but I will get there. Even when I cannot see the sunshine, I have faith that the sun is still there.
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