Sometimes, stereotypes exist for a reason. For example, I am about to talk about the weather. I’m a Canadian. We talk about the weather. That’s a stereotype.
Yesterday morning, on my way to the church office, I spotted something in the sky. It was hard to miss, frankly. An ‘ice halo’, otherwise known as a ‘sun dog’, was plainly evident in the southeastern sky. It was a bright, cold, clear day in Nobleton, save for some cirrus clouds in the upper atmosphere. The conditions were right for this unusual meteorological phenomenon. And the timing to catch it was perfect.
Why am I talking about the weather? Well, there’s so many ways we could go with this, but let me limit my thoughts to two.
First, while it was the coldest morning we’ve experienced this winter, and not everybody is a fan of the cold, one isn’t going to see a halo around the sun when it’s warm. Rainbows, yes, but halos, no. Sometimes, we need to experience some discomfort in order to experience a unique blessing.
Have you ever found yourself enduring difficult circumstances, only to discover, later, that those difficult circumstances paved the way to something amazing? Those of you who have given birth will understand this better than the rest of us, I expect. But we who have never birthed a child can understand it, too. Sometimes, we find ourselves in challenging situations. In their midst, we might feel like the world is crashing down around us. But once we pass through those situations, we might find our character has been strengthened, or our hearts have been opened to some greater thing God had planned for us. This may not be true in every difficult circumstance, but something good can come from it, though we may not enjoy it at the time.
Second, timing matters. Often, I don’t head out the door until closer to 9:00, since I live quite close to the church. But yesterday, I was at the church at 8:40. Why? The only reason I can guess is that the Lord wanted me to see that beautiful meteorological feat of his. (Sure, physics can explain it, but who made the physics possible, right?!) When we are open to God’s timing, and ready to go when God says ‘go’ – even if it’s just a 750 metre trip – we can experience blessings that we might miss if we remain chained to our own schedule.
All this might seem like a stretch just from seeing a sun dog, but that was my Thursday morning experience, and it was a blessing for me. How has an uncomfortable situation, or being in the right place at the right time, been a blessing for you?
“When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you” (Isaiah 43.2, NLT).
