Heat and Humidity
We find ourselves dead center in the middle of summer at this time of year. Where we live it is extremely hot and humid. I remember when I first moved to a suburb of Detroit, Michigan having someone say to me, “I hope you can stand the humidity here. Our temps are not extremely high, but the humidity is terrible.” They simply did not understand.
Conversely, it was a while back that I was on the golf course playing with the men’s group at Sapelo Hammock. I was paired with someone who had recently moved from the north, and midway through the round we got a brief, but intense rain shower. We took cover for thirty minutes, and then resumed our round. The gentleman said to me, “Well, at least the rain will cool things down a bit for us.” He had no idea of the steamy situation that was about to envelope him.
It’s funny how our expectations about the weather change based on where we live. I’ve had the opportunity to live in Georgia, Louisiana, Indiana and Michigan, and I have travelled around our country as well as a few places around the world. I think the two hottest places I have experienced, one you would expect, and the other might surprise.
Haiti in July. The temperature in the room we where we slept was 96 at 10 p.m. What a miserable night of sleep. But then, in the city of Donetsk in Ukraine I went to a worship service. I was wearing the expected coat and tie, and we were in a home. The room was perhaps 15 by 15 feet, and some thirty people were crowded in to hear me preach. I thought I was going to pass out. It was miserable.
Well, what is my point? Simple really. God has given us great diversity in weather, depending on where we live. We had the snowstorm of the century here earlier this year, surprising us all. There can be heatwaves in the north. But through the heat, the rain, the cold, and the sunshine, God is with us every step of the way. “He gives rain to the just and the unjust.” And we should give thanks through it all.
