SUMMER 2010Tom Etherington
Mullica Hill MMOh Yuk. A rainy day. And it's supposed to go on all week. I have things to do, but I'll have to stay inside instead.
I remember when as a child I heard the verse from Matthew declaring that it rains upon the just and the unjust, I always thought it meant that good people got dumped on as well as those who deserved it, the Biblical version of "Stuff happens."
I later learned that it meant just the opposite. It seems that when you are trying to grow a crop in the land flowing with milk and honey, rain is a critical factor. You depend on the early rain at planting time and the latter rain which enables your crop to mature for harvest, and sometimes the latter rain does not come. Rain is the blessing you pray for, and this blessing is bestowed upon the evil as well as the good.
Blessings are strange things. It is a common thing for a person to have riches, wealth and honor, yet not be able to live in peace and well-being, but to be consumed by care and worry in spite of all these blessings. It's as if he was unable to see the good which has come, but is always looking for what might be.
Jeremiah says that a person who puts his trust in human endeavor cannot see when blessings come, but one who trusts in God will be like a tree planted by water, whose leaves are always green and never fails to bear fruit. A little faith that God is in control will help me through this dreary day.
For those of us who no longer live on a farm, it may be difficult to associate rain with a full belly and a livable income, but, surely, anything that gives us time for a good book and a good nap can't be all bad.
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Thursday, May 27, 2010 at 01:49 AM
