It’s a rainy morning on Daufuskie today. Sometimes it falls gently, and sometimes it picks up the pace. The sky is much darker than a normal Daufuskie morning, with the sunrise having been obscured by these dense, dark rainclouds. If you were the sort of person who likes to sleep in, this would be your type of morning. Other than the sound of the rain on the roof, it is a very quiet start to the day.
As I watch the water run off the edge of the roof, I can’t help but feel grateful for our weather today. Yes, I realize that for anyone who needed to do work outside today, this weather is a problem and they may not be able to do anything. And yes, I realize that weather like this will keep most of the tourists away, leading to a slow day in our local businesses. But we need days like this, for two reasons. First, the rain in springtime helps to feed the new life growing in our gardens, our yards, and in our forests, and some of it even makes it down through the soils into the aquifers below that provide our drinking water. No rain, no life. So for that reason alone, I’m extremely grateful.
The other reason is that we sometimes need an outside force to act on our busy schedules and cause us to slow down. Left to our own planning, many of us have a tendency to go at full speed, assuming that we will have enough gas in our tanks to get us where we need to go. If you are like me, that reflects a rather optimistic naiveté that makes a rough and unplanned stop almost inevitable at some inopportune time. Having a rainy morning means hitting the pause button – not because I wanted to, but because God has a better plan.
I realize that the rain today is messing with plans to play golf or pickleball, or shopping. For those who aren’t able to work today because of the weather, or who will have much lower levels of business today, this weather probably even means a financial cost. Those aren’t exactly the sort of conditions that make us want to give thanks. But God saw fit to give us something that we needed today.
Have a little faith, have a little trust, and simply slow things down a bit today. Maybe take on an unfinished project that has been waiting for your time. Maybe catch up on some needed rest. Maybe spend some quality time with someone else, perhaps even with God. For whatever reason, rain was in God’s plan for us today, so let us give thanks and make the most of it.
Peace and blessings – Pastor Aaron