Snow and Wisdom

It certainly appears that winter is here.  I wasn’t aware that October 22 was the first day of winter, but here we are.  We had several inches of snow Thursday and several more inches Saturday.  I started writing this on Saturday night, and as I was writing it I did not know if I’d get to Onida for church Sunday or not.  I had to wait and see in the morning.

Much as I love being the pastor here, this is one part I don’t like at all.  I don’t like having to worry about the weather.  I don’t like having to wonder whether we should have church or not.  I don’t like having to wonder whether I should try to drive down there or not.  If I could somehow live here, but never have to worry about the weather again, I would be a very happy man.

And there are a couple of factors that make it even harder.  One of them is that I’m a coward when it comes to driving bad roads.  I really don’t like to do it.  That’s not a sin or anything, but it also gives me a natural bias toward not going, even when the roads aren’t that bad.  But on the other hand, because I know I have that bias and need to fight it, sometimes I overcorrect and drive when I shouldn’t.  I second-guess my own judgment.

Another factor that makes it hard is that, where I live, it’s very hard to tell just how bad it is outside.  It often is a lot worse when I get a block or two away from the house than it looked while I was home.  And then, too, once you go up the hill on the west side of Gettysburg, it can be an entirely different situation than it looked like before you went up the hill.  

All of which makes it very hard for me to know what to do on weekends like this.  I wish I had someone to just come in and tell me what to do, but I don’t.  There are people I can ask for advice, and I sometimes do, but it still comes down to a decision I have to make.  I know the Bible tells us not to worry about tomorrow, and I try to follow that.  But right now, as I was writing this on Saturday night, I have to admit that I was somewhat worried about tomorrow.

Did I pray about it?  Of course.  But I was not expecting to hear the voice of God telling me what to do.  I could have, of course--God does talk to people directly sometimes, and God could talk to me directly if God chose to do so.  But I did not expect it.  I did ask God, if it was God’s will, to do that, but mainly, I asked God to give me the wisdom to make the proper decision when the morning came.

That’s Biblical too, after all.  In First Kings, Chapter Three, God allows Solomon to ask for any gift he wants.  Solomon asks for the gift of wisdom.  If it’s good enough for Solomon, then it’s certainly good enough for me.

Wisdom is not the most plentiful of commodities in the world.  It’s something we all need to pray for, all the time.  And of course, the wisest thing we can ever do is follow God’s will.  The best way to do that is to love God, serve God, and stay faithful to God.  All of which involves loving others and serving others as well.

I ultimately did not go to Onida Sunday.  I hope that was a wise decision.  I pray that God always helps me make wise decisions, no matter what the subject is.  I pray that God will help you make wise decisions, too.