Signs of the Times

Home again. I had my plans for the day. Do the on-line tasks necessary; catch up with e-mails; read some of the accumulated notices which came in while I was away. Then I would step out into the wild wilderness of my garden and very gently start the eternal task of weeding.

Interrupted by the sound of big drops falling from the sky, I dashed out to bring in the nearly-dry laundry, and then resumed my internet-work. A distant rumble of thunder jolted my complacency and I popped upstairs to turn off that computer. I was still on-line downstairs and didn’t want that session disrupted, so kept things plugged in...until the next clap of thunder sent me scurrying round pulling plugs and disconnecting modems and phones. End of on-line session. End of outdoor gardening plans. Onto plan B.

One thing I’ve learned from my years in Scotland is to read the signs of the weather and adjust my plans accordingly. Having grown up where the sun shines more or less all of the time, that has been a hard lesson. But it reminds me of Jesus’ warning that we be alert and aware of what is going on around us, and adjust things accordingly. And pray without ceasing.

I’ve had my head down for a fortnight as I made all the arrangements for my mother’s house-move. Focused on phone calls, weeding through piles of accumulated mail, closing up one place, making all the arrangements at the new place, I never watched the news and was pretty unaware of what was going on even where I was staying. Sometimes we get overwhelmed by life and can’t ‘see the forest for the trees’. But it’s no way to live.

We were created to live with broad horizons. We are designed to have eternal perspectives. In Christ we have already stepped into eternal life, though our shoes are often mired in the everyday clay.

It’s good to be reminded that our little tasks, as major as they seem and often are at the moment, are not all there is. It’s good to have our focus adjusted, our eyes drawn to the horizon, our hearts recalibrated to Jesus. 

So, as frustrating as I might find it to cease the session I was having, as the rain continues and the thunder rolls, I shall pour myself a cup of cinnamon tea and read last Saturday’s newspaper. Or maybe catch a few more ZZZs.