As I write today we have had two weeks of fine warm weather which has been a surprise. My thoughts turn to this coming July and the end of the school term and the beginning of the school holidays. As a child, I always remember the unfairness of being stuck in school when it was really hot, and then it raining hard in the summer holidays. I am more of an occasional camper than a dedicated camper. I remember more wet holidays than dry ones! My theory is that when you camp you can avoid the damp for only a certain amount of time. Once everything is soggy it is time to go home. The more rain you have, the sooner you get to that point where you are forced to give up. When the sun shines and everything is dry camping can be great fun. It certainly feels like these times were in the minority! I wonder what plans you have for the summer and how much the weather will affect what you can and cannot do. One explanation is that as the sea warms up that generates more rain so logically there is more rain in late summer and early autumn. It is likely with global warming this will only get worse. Ironically, often the warmer sea attracts people to the seaside which may in turn encourage the rain. Perhaps we should look for the colder sea in the North, although in my experience of Scotland, it rains just as much if not more in the summer!
Whatever the weather is like we seem to be able to adapt. We wrap up warm and sit on a wind-swept beach while children play in the sand or at the water’s edge; the picnic under trees wearing waterproof clothing watching the rain falling around us; or the longed-for barbeque in the garden turns out to be a house party with a solitary figure standing under the sun shade cooking on the barbeque in the pouring rain. There always seems to be a way of working around life’s surprises. One wedding was pleased for a grey wet day because the marquee in the garden had been unbearably hot all week! It was now a temperature where people could use it again.
It reminds us so often in life that what we hope for and what we live with are often incredibly different. As I have already pointed out we are very adaptable and find ways of coping. Sometimes it can be overwhelming and too much to deal with. We sometimes need a little help from family and friends. We sometimes stop and ask for God’s help with a short prayer. Often the way forward is different to how we imagined so it is hard to see any way forwards at all. We need to take a step faith and see what happens. A journey begins with just a first step in any direction.
