"On the Weather"

"Elaine said it was going to rain today,"  was my thought as I headed to the truck for a raincoat.  Elaine is a gardening client who keeps track of such things, even on an hourly basis.  I don't.  My tack is to deal with the weather at hand, at the moment.  I keep two sets of raingear in my pickup, and my rule of thumb is when both sets are soaked through, and I have begun to feel good and wet underneath then I call it a day.  That doesn't say much for the quality of raingear I have, does it?

The day was one of those typical in Oregon's Willamette Valley in mid-Spring.  My comment on the weather at this time of year usually is, "Of course, it's softball season."  Two of my daughters played softball, and anyone who has been around either softball or baseball, soccer or track, golf or lacrosse in an Oregon Spring knows exactly what I'm talking about.  The day can begin with sunshine and blue skies only to have the wind come up, the skies darken, and rain pelt down.  That's what happened today.  As I finished up my weeding job with raingear on, I began planning the rest of my day, a day of inside work, only to turn around and find the rain had stopped, and skies were clear once again.

The weather is a great equalizer, a universal fact of mankind.  It knows no race or creed, does not recognize class, status, or financial statements.  Every corner of the globe is subject to its variances.  When a tornado or hurricane, an avalanche or mudslide, Tsunami or flash flood, heat wave or blizzard passes through, the wealthiest of men is affected as is the most impoverished.  The weather is unbridled, controlled by no man--nor woman.   

 In naivete, I used to think farmers must be the godliest of men as their very livelihood is so dependent upon the weather.  Surely they would turn to the One who is in control of their destiny.  The proper amount of rain and sun is necessary in growing any kind of crop;  too much of either or a lack thereof spells disaster.  At this point in my life I doubt those who provide our food are any more God-fearing than any other group of businessmen, and I warrant a guess there haven't been any studies to reinforce or dispute that thought.  My suspicion is it depends upon the individual not the calling.

As I was shedding myself of my raincoat yesterday and heading off to yet another mowing job--in the sunshine, no less--I thought of the name applied to the One in charge of our weather, that of Mother Nature.  In my curiosity I wondered if He ever gets tired of being so described and wants to throw His hands up in disgust, if He ever wants to shout "Do you not see it is me?!  I am not a contrived picture, a label created to satisfy your narrow world and your narrow minds!"  I would, but then, that's me.  By the way, before the day was over there was such a deluge of hail the ground turned white.  God, not Mother Nature, put in a busy day weather-wise.  Of course, it's softball season. 


"...for he makes the sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."  Matthew 5:45