THE WONDER OF THUNDER SNOW

IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS


We're having a blizzard all across New England today. It upset my son's plans to move cross-country with a U-Haul trailer, my Christmas party was postponed, and of course area schools closed at noon.


Many heeded the advisories this year and stayed off the roads because a similar storm last December bogged things down so much the commute was anywhere from three to eight hours long. I myself needed nearly four hours to go twenty miles that day. I nearly lost my life on the way home, really, and a thing like that stays with you. Just to be sure, this morning I saw a tape of the Governor's message, urging people to stay off the roads.


It makes me wonder, how many canceled appointments and postponed deliveries were there? How many meetings didn't convene or classes didn't get taught? How many sudden schedule changes, deletions, and no-shows were there as people everywhere adjusted their priorities today?

I like to think of some positive probabilities too. Maybe people will get to spend more time together. Fathers may get to ignore their cells and play with their kids instead. When's the last time they made a snowman or threw a snowball with their sons? Mothers may get to shut down their laptops and cook a hot meal or bake some pies instead. Maybe they can snuggle their babies a little longer today. Fireplaces may be lit and games may come out instead of rushing to the malls for this final commercial weekend before Christmas.


Of course anytime you turn on the news channels it is the main item. We see pretty women wrapped up in scarves and earmuffs standing beside the highways to tell us how fast it's coming down and how much is accumulating of the 14" we're expecting. The sight is a familiar one for anyone who grew up in the northern states, yet you can still learn something new every day.

Take "thunder snow", for example. I grew up here and never even heard the term until recently. In fact, just like el nino, it's not even in my dictionary, but the weathermen are saying thunder snow is when we get an incredible 3-4 inches per hour. Wow, isn't that like God dumping it out of the skies in buckets? Is this something new? Will wonders never cease!

So, here we are, a highly educated, highly populated northeastern beltway of the nation, grinding to a halt and left looking upward. There are two more storms coming on the heels of this one, so we're in for a very white Christmas and our old friend Bing would be dreaming happily now.


All this is a great reminder that life is not something we can control. There are greater forces at work out there. It is baffling, mysterious, and change can come sweeping down upon us in a moment.

When I lived in the jungles of New Guinea however, there were no forecasts whatsoever. Things like earthquakes and tsunamis came out of nowhere. Floods and monsoon storms appeared with no advance warning. In fact, we could take off in a small boat and hit a wall of rain halfway up the river. Or, board a small plane and fly an hour over the tree line only to discover our airstrip was nowhere to be found! Life was full of surprises out there in a world without CNN and Fox News.

In stark contrast, today's storm started right on schedule at 2:00 sharp! We're pretty good at predicting and measuring. We're astute observers of our world, but no, in the grand scheme of things, we're not in control. Not the least bit. The sooner we awaken to this truth, the better off we will be.







There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you--who are you...?


Now listen, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.


Instead, you ought to learn to say, If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that. As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is wrong... James 4:12-16



Is any among you in trouble? He should pray... James 5:13