Whose Bright Idea Was This?

            So whose bright idea was this, anyway?

            A couple of weeks ago, we had temperatures in the 40s and 50s, even touching 60 a time or two.  I was good with that for January.  Now, as I write this, it’s two degrees—two measly little degrees—and there’s a strong wind blowing out of the north.  What’s up with that?  Who decided we needed weather like this in January?

            Well, we know the answers to those questions.  What’s up with that is that I’m in Gettysburg, South Dakota in January.  We know around here that, at some point, it’s going to get really cold.  Who decided we needed weather like this in January is, ultimately, God.  I’m not saying God specifically said it should be two degrees in Gettysburg today, but God set up the system by which we know that we always get cold weather here at this time of year.

            This is not the system I’d have set up, if I was doing it.  I’d have kept those 40-60 degree temperatures around all through January and into February, at which point I’d have had it warm up a little.  That seems to me like a much better system.  God, however, seems not to agree with me on this point.

            As I look at my life, I can find several times where this has happened.  I have one idea for how things should go.  God has a different idea.  Since God does not generally seek out my opinions before making decisions, things go the way God wants them to go, not the way I want them to go.

            I’ve noticed a pattern about these things.  Quite often, when God makes these decisions without consulting me, things turn out better than they would have if God had done them the way I wanted.  There are some things the jury is still out on—for example, I still don’t agree with the system that says peas are better for you than ice cream—but for those things on which the verdict is in, it seems like I always get it wrong and God always gets it right.

            Quite often, God has reasons for things that we can’t see or understand.  When I got out of law school, I could not understand why I didn’t get some of the jobs I applied for—until I was hired for the one I finally got.  I could not understand why a certain young woman did not want to marry me—until I met the woman who now is my wife.  I could not understand why I was not more successful as a lawyer—until I realized that God was leading me into the ministry.  I could not understand why God did not allow us to stay in North Sioux City—until I came to the Wheatland Parish.  These are just a few examples.  I could give a lot more.

            I still don’t understand the whole “cold and snow in January” thing.  In fact, I’m not sure I understand the purpose for January at all, other than as a time for football playoffs.  Still, I’m sure God has a reason for it and that God is probably right, even if I can’t see why or how.

            So, as in the other matters of our lives, big and small, I’ll try to trust God in this.  I’ll assume God has good reasons, even if I don’t understand them.  After all, God has a pretty good track record of being right.