Summer is here … or at least about here … depends on what day it is.
I think the worst part of the pollen season is over, from what I can tell when looking at my vehicle. It’s warming up outside. The kids are about to get out of school and make summer plans for beaches and amusement parks.
The mornings are not so cool and the days are getting warmer. More people are out and about. In The Free Press, I read that the Woodmen Water Park will be opening soon. Swim suits are on the racks in department stores and the sand buckets are available for little eyes to catch a glimpse of.
Yes, summer is here.
I am reminded of the scripture from Isaiah 43:18-19. “Remember you not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”
I think of flowers coming to life and the millions of bugs, although they probably get on our nerves, that God has designed and placed on the earth with a specific purpose in mind. And I think of the past snow storms and hurricanes that flooded our world not too long ago.
I am, then, so thankful to God that we do not have to remember the former things. It could be so easy not to focus on the beauty of the world because we are so consumed with what has been. Certainly the tragedies of the destruction on the Jersey shore and tornadoes that have ripped through the United States even recently, could cause us to dwell in life’s misfortunes, as opposed to basking in all that is to come.
Yet, God’s true desire for us is to look at what has happened in the past from a place of acceptance and to gain wisdom from lessons learned. His desire is for us to trust Him. He loves us so much and has promised that all things (even old and former things) would work out for our good, because we love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Regardless of what the past held, He will do a new thing, it will spring forth and the future will have amazing potential.
As you read this article, I am not sure what is going on in your world. I am not sure what hand life has dealt you. I don’t know what tornado has come by your address. I can’t tell you what makes your heart leap or leaves your eyes filled with tears, or even what makes your heart bleed.
But there is one thing I know.
Summer is here. The pollen (for the most part) has gone. The birds are singing. It’s a new season, and God has promised to spring forth a new thing.
Dare you trust Him today with your storms?
The Rev. Wanda Hall is executive director of The Gate. Reach her at gatedirector@gmail.com.