As I sit here, the wind is howling, and there has been a steady, misting rain all day. The rain is supposed to continue all night into tomorrow. Last weekend was beautiful though… the Mitton crew had a nice family getaway where we just “hung out” and spent time with each other. The sun shone on the lake and we enjoyed cool evenings under a full moon. On my way to work the other morning, the landscape was actually mesmerizing… a dense fog hovered over the corn fields, the sun was deep and orange as it climbed over the horizon to begin its day and the sky was quiet and fairy-forest like. Crazy. Soon the snow will cover the ground. Canadian weather keeps us on our toes. And Canadians have a habit of chatting about it all the time. It’s our small talk. And it’s what I am musing about this week.
Have you ever thought about the difference between fog and mist? (Here’s a hint… it has to do with how far you can see). What about how rainbows are made? Why different snowflake shapes? Seasonal consequences like falling leaves, coastal tidal waves and hibernation? Hurricanes, tornadoes, thunderstorms. Have you ever stopped to wonder about how we went from a planet of steady weather (before Noah’s flood) to an ever changing planet of potentially cataclysmic daily events? Not to mention hemispheres of constant weather like polar regions and deserts. Climate change aside, the weather serves to function perfectly to keep our world growing and changing. Seasons change and the natural world adapts and uses those changes to its full potential. Only God could design such a thing, I suppose.
Which adds the next level in my muse: How many times does the Bible reference “the weather”? I haven’t found a definitive answer, but there certainly is a lot of times verses mention weather, rain, wind, volcanoes, mist, storms… you name it, I am sure it’s in there. Consider Job 36:
26 “Behold, God is great, and we do not know Him;
Nor can the number of His years be discovered.
27 For He draws up drops of water,
Which distill as rain from the mist,
28 Which the clouds drop down
And pour abundantly on man.
29 Indeed, can anyone understand the spreading of clouds,
The thunder from His canopy?
30 Look, He scatters His light upon it,
And covers the depths of the sea.
31 For by these He judges the peoples;
He gives food in abundance.
32 He covers His hands with lightning,
And commands it to [h]strike.
33 His thunder declares it,
The cattle also, concerning [i]the rising storm.”
NKJV
Still, above all that, there is a God who is in charge of it all. One who can calm the storm and send fire and brimstone from the heavens… yet whispers in the still small voice of a misty morning. Do ya feel it, friend? Anyone can feel the power behind a crack of thunder just a little too close. We marvel at foggy days and rejoice under the warm sun of a summer day. We humans also benefit from God’s meteorology. We need the sun to warm our bodies and grow our food. We function under the cycles our earth creates. Anyone who works shifts knows how important night versus day is.
Perhaps God designed a mono-climate in the garden of Eden to keep things simple, but He certainly makes us aware of His presence these days with the crazy weather — which keeps us Canadians in plenty of choices for small talk. And so I encourage you — next time you’re sittin’ on the old porch chair chit chatting about the weather and the storm that’s rolling in… consider the source. Marvel at the mist. Listen to the still soft whisper in the wind. And know that there is a bigger God who calms the storm and designs each snowflake by hand.
mittonmusings 