Column by Dr. Ann Hollingsworth
August has included a lot of rain. While the amount and strength of the rain varied across locations, I think all of us got a lot of it over the month. I have heard it said that the weather conditions often reflect the spiritual conditions present at the time. That could definitely be the case right now as we look at the daily news.
When we get rain in the weather, we go on living anyway. We bring out our umbrellas, raincoats, and footwear that will keep our feet dry. We still go to work, go shopping, and for the faithful, go to church. If we live on a farm, we still go out and take care of the animals and any other necessary outdoor stuff. Rain may prompt a change in how we do some things, but we keep on with daily life.
So how do we keep on in the midst of the rain from the items in the daily news? Probably the first measure is to determine to keep on anyway. Just as we don’t let the weather rain keep us sequestered like a critical jury, we don’t need to let the daily news keep us away from living either.
The rain from the news works on us in our minds, then in the activities of daily life. So our best raingear is going to be how we set up and maintain our thinking. This will in turn affect our actions. Probably the best thinking is to choose to let God be in charge and tap into that through frequent prayer and absorption of appropriate Bible application. This can help us to also think “common sense” and along the lines of self-sufficiency. If we see fruit selling for gold in the grocery store, we can grow fruit at home. It may be pears instead of mangoes, but it will still nourish us.
Rain happens, but we can still go on living in it, whether it comes out of the sky or on the daily news.
