Newsletter article for this week

“Everybody talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it.”
--Mark Twain

According to the weather forecasters, summer temperatures will arrive this week, actually arriving a day or three ahead of summer itself, which starts on June 21. This year I’m facing summer with a little better grace than before because I’ve got a new air conditioner. The old one had the good grace to break down during a pretty temperate week, which was a gift, given that it took a week and a half to get the new one in and running.
I have mixed feelings about summer. It’s hot and humid, which I don’t tolerate all that well. The heat causes my dog to dig in the flowerbeds, looking for a cool spot, also not my favorite thing. But I also love so much about summer: fresh homegrown tomatoes and corn, watermelon and long sunshiny days, cucumber salad with onions and vinegar, sitting in the shade, watching lazy bumblebees trundle from flower to flower on the wild roses.
Summer weather brings its own challenges, too. I love a summer storm; they blow up and over so quickly, but they give me a great light show and knock some of the humidity out of the air for a minute or two. Of course, I don’t ever want these storms to be destructive…and thunder scares the dog. Harker’s Islanders know that even these fast moving squalls can create big problems.
As we watch the weather, and talk about it, let us remember who is with us all the days of our lives, in fair weather and foul. We are always accompanied by the presence of our loving God, who rejoices with us in bright sunny days, and I’m convinced hangs out with the dog under the bed when it seems the skies are splitting open with thunderclaps. I know God is with me when I ride over to the beach and watch the storm-tossed waves, and with all the beach-goers basking in the sun. And should a storm blow up in my life that doesn’t affect the weather, I know God is there with me, too.
Anne