Reflection This Week
IT IS WHAT IT IS

   This past Sunday was only the second time in my ministry when services had to be cancelled because of the weather. Both were the result of a treacherous ice storm that blew in from the west, knocked down trees and power lines, shut off electrical service to thousands for days and generally made life miserable for countless people.

   Like it or not, we are often at the mercy of forces out of our control. The weather is what it is and we cannot do much about it, global warming being an exception and about which we must do something and soon. Whether either storm was the result of such warming, I leave to the experts. Placing blame after the fact does not help in dealing with what now is. It will help us, hopefully, begin to do what needs to be done to prevent such calamities from happening again.

   On Sunday morning as my wife and I were having a cup of coffee and I was reading the newspaper, Arlena asked me if I was okay with having called off the services for the weekend. She knows how guilt plays a large role in the lives of clergy. Somehow we seem to feel that because we are supposed to be closer to God, we can prevent such events from happening. And if they do, we, for some reason, feel somewhat guilty.

   I was okay, but I did not like it. It was not that I had this great sermon that everyone was now going to miss – well, not everyone as not everyone is in church every Sunday, which is a sermon in itself. (It was a good sermon, by the way, if I have to be self-serving.) I did not like having to cancel the services because I did not like not being away from our gathered community. Just as I am fed by the Eucharist each week, so I am fed by your presence in my life every week.

   The weekend was what it was and I had to be okay with it whether I liked it or not. We all did. And so we managed; we coped, some of us better than others because some of us were better off than others. We lost electricity for about an hour. Others, thousands of others, are still without. It is what it is. The truth is it was a good weekend, a very relaxing weekend, even though I feel somewhat guilty admitting it. Occupational hazard, I guess.

   Ice storms, electrical outages, cancellations, accidents, sickness, altering plans, sudden and unexpected deprivations are all part of life. In the midst of such events all we can do, all we should do, is deal with it. We will have to address the question as to why it happened after we get through the present. That is often not easy, and on many levels. There are sometimes just too many variables that finding a cause – and laying blame – is simply beyond anyone’s ability.

   None of this is to say that we simply throw up our hands and utter those famous Italian words, che sera, sera! What will be will be! Yes, ice storms and power outages are out of our control as are driving conditions. The safety of others is not. On the other hand, not everything has to be. Knowing the difference and knowing what to do to make a difference is really what matters. We can be okay with that.    WJP