The Weather Report

I look out the window today, and it is windy, cold and rainy; the kind of day that makes you long for a lazy day in front of a fireplace. Summer has gradually turned to fall and soon our colorful autumn will give way to the chilling days of winter.

Us Minnesotans love to talk about our weather. Half the time we like to complain about it though – well, that might be the case for me. I love the warm sunny days of summer. If I am going to survive the upcoming seasons, I’ll simply have to change my attitude about the cold, wet, snowy days.

So I have decided to give thanks for whatever the weather brings my way; and in doing so I hope to discover a new metaphor for life’s changing seasons and surprises. It’s so easy to find reasons not to like the weather, and, it’s so easy to find reasons to be discouraged about what happens in our lives. I can’t control the weather and there are many things in my life that I can’t control either. Yet, if I am in the habit of giving thanks for all types of weather each day, perhaps I’ll be able to give thanks for each of my life’s circumstances, joys, problems, challenges, happy times, and changes. You see, without sounding like Pollyanna, there is goodness, beauty, wonder all around us even during our difficult days. Worry and fear will crumble in the sunshine of faith, hope and love.

That’s God’s gift to us. Jesus said he came to give us life and life abundantly. A common theme throughout scripture is “Fear not.” It doesn’t take much faith at all to simply cry out to God for help. God is just a breath away and even closer. Hope is that life buoy in times of trouble that sustains and motivates us to keep on keeping on. And, of course, there is love. God is Love! His grace, understanding, and mercies are as abundant as a mighty ocean.

So I invite you to join me in giving thanks each day for whatever the weather may be; and in doing so, may you see through faith and hope God’s love for you in every circumstance of your life. Thankfulness is a beautiful way to see life and live abundantly.

-Chaplain, Lane Skoglund-Anderson