What is your choice - the ice of winter or the humidity of summer? About five months ago we fretted about the ice. We were concerned about ice storms which would bring down power lines. We despised icy roads which kept us from traveling safely. Now heavy snow is bad enough, but ice just brings everything to a halt. And remember how we longed for warmer temperatures? Well now we have them. And like the snow, the temperature isn't that bad in itself, it is the humidity which brings us down. When I was attending Florida State in the summer, it was hot. But they never had the humidity which we have in good old Lancaster County. Florida was bearable in the summer, but sometimes Lancaster County isn't. And what can you do about it? Very little except to try and relax. Maybe swim if you have access to a pool. Pray that the air conditioning or power doesn't fail. In the winter you can put on more clothing to keep warm but in the summer there is a limit to what you can take off to keep cool - at least in public. In the winter I often need to make decisions about whether to cancel Awana and that is the leadership task I dislike the most. In the winter we pay huge and growing bills to heat our home - especially since we use oil. In the summer we pay huge and growing electric bills to pay for the air conditioning. You can't win either way. Of course then there is the spring - my second favorite season - when all you need to worry about are floods, hail storms and tornados. We've had three tornados hit within a few miles of our house and we've learned to move to the basement when we need to. But there is little else one can do about those. Maybe ice and humidity are better. Then there is the fall - my favorite season - with the tail end of the hurricane season and sometimes draught conditions. Not much you can do about that either. And of course at any season you can have earthquakes. Wow, this is quickly becoming a depressing blog. Sorry about that. But in between all these bad days and events are the many beautiful days that we experience. And maybe the bad days just help us appreciate even more the good days. I guess that is really true about all the bad things that happen to us in life - they should make the good days that much better. Then there is also the reminder summed up in that great hymn "Great Is Thy Faithfulness". It says "summer and winter and springtime and harvest .... join with all nature in manifold witness, to Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love. Great Is Thy Faithfulness ..." Sometimes I just need to be reminded that my days are really in God's hands and that He is with me every moment - in the good times and in the bad. He has promised never to leave me or forsake me. And that means that He will be with me even in the ice, humidity, tornados, earthquakes, hurricanes or whatever. Do you recognize His constant presence by your side? Now which do I really prefer, the ice or the humidity? That is easy. In the winter I prefer the humidity and in the summer I prefer the ice. With an answer like that, maybe I should be a politician. In the meantime, I think I'll fight the humidity with some ice - in my glass. Keep cool - at least for now!
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