Wednesday Wonder

“I am soooo tired of winter!”

This is a phrase I am hearing quite often these days. Makes me smile. Won’t be long and I will be hearing, “I am sooo tired of this heat!”

We never seem content with the weather. It’s too hot, it’s too cold, it’s too dull, etc., etc., etc. Pretty sure the too hot/cold, bright/dull is a conversation that happens in any home with two or more people in it. My spouse and I never agree on the thermostat setting.

Is it really about the weather? We focus on the weather, but is there something else that makes us always seem to want what we don’t have? Let’s face it. The weather isn’t the only thing about which we might be using a phrase of complaining.

One of my favourites is the too quiet, not quiet enough debate I sometimes hear. Some people need a space that is completely quiet in which to concentrate on a task. Others need some background noise to do the same thing.

This was a source of constant debate during my university days. When I shared a room in first year, we had to find a compromise that worked for both of us. When I shared an apartment with two others for the next three years, there were constant issues with quiet versus noise. Honestly, the walls were pretty thin, so you could hear the murmur of voices or the melody of music no matter how quiet you tried to be. Headphones went a long way, even if only used for noise reduction and not to listen to your favourite music.

All of this has been making me wonder about how we humans can get along as we share this planet. God clearly expected that we would. But I am pretty sure the book of Genesis has left out some of the arguments Adam and Eve had during those early days. We have a world where arguments are a constant on so many levels.

Have you ever heard the old saying, “Where two or three are gathered there will be at least four opinions?” Or something like that. Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there also.” See, could be four opinions then.

We are all unique individuals. God created us to be just that. Our uniqueness when combined with that of others, makes life ‘interesting’. Maybe not the word we would all use, but we will go with it.

There are still plenty of people out there who are happy to have it keep snowing and be cold. There are just as many people wishing it would stop and turn warm, hot even. What we forget perhaps, is that God has taken us all into consideration. We all get our time. I know a few farmers who are happy to have all the precipitation, no matter what form, as it will water and nourish the ground to help with this year’s harvest.

As we continue our Lenten journey (it has been a week already!), we have the opportunity to give thanks to God for all our blessings. In this time of intentional connecting with God we might mention that we feel we have been blessed enough for now when it comes to snow. But we know that six months from now we will be saying we feel overly blessed with the heat.

Maybe, this year, we simply say thanks. Then we listen and see if God shares why things are the way they are. We might learn more about ourselves, our world, our God, if we take the time to stop wishing for something different and take the time to say thanks and build understanding about the why of things. Might be an interesting conversation.

However, we are human, so I know that no matter what the conversation I have with God, there is also going to be a conversation about the thermostat again tonight when I get home. I’m only human after all.