Goodbye February

I hate February! It is the last full brutal, month of an already too long winter.  Christmas is over... January was used up doing things that got put on the back burner until Christmas was over...we have gone sledding, drank hot cocoa with marshmallows, snuggled up and watch movies while it snowed outside.... and put our snow clothes on one too many times by February.  Some people find solace in the fact that February is only 28 days.  Not me.. I hate it!  In fact, I detest this month so much that I refused to get married in February.  We were originally planning on a March wedding, but changed plans and decided that January 31st would be the day.  There was no way I would celebrate my wedding in the worst month of the year. (I hope you aren't offended if you like February...)
A week or so ago, the blessed weatherman promised us a warm day with a high of 58 degrees or so.  I know that weathermen don't acutally "promise" anything, but it sure felt like a promise! When the peak of the day came it was almost 58 degrees, but overcast and gray.  The wind was blowing a little to hard for my taste. I am not embarassed to say that I was mad.  I looked out the window (and thought about shaking my fist, but didn't) and cried :"Where is the sun? Where in the world is the sun?" In my mind, I was sure that a promise of 58 degrees meant a warm spring day.  He never said it was going to be sunny, but I had automatically assumed that was part of the deal. There is a big difference between a 58 degree sunny day and a 58 degree windy, overcast day.
As I thought about this for a minute I thought of something else.  Sometimes in our lives we may be inclined to say: "Where is the Son?  Where in the world is the Son?" Sometimes the Februarys of our lives come (although not as scheduled as the February that is on the calendar).  We may be at the end of our winter and want spring so badly.  We are irritated with the wind and sick of "looking on the bright side" as we might be more capable of doing in December or January.  It occurred to me that storms in our life may appear to cover the sun (Son).  We cannot feel its warmth the way we long to.  We may even look up a the clouds and say "Where is the Son?  Move out of the way clouds, so I can feel and see the Son!"  But, the sun is always there.  We know it is because it is still light outside.  There may not be a blue sky, but it is still light and still relatively warm. Why do we have storms at all?  Why can't everyday be 68 degrees and sunny with a slight breeze from the south?  Storms do a lot of things in our world, but I mention only two.  First, rain cleanses things.  Second, we appreciate the sun so much more when we haven't seen its full brightness for awhile.