Sometimes it all comes at once! Rain, Sun, sand, rocks, wet & dry.One of the perks of being with my mom these days is the view! I like to get up for the sunrise every morning. This was the first time I felt like I could get to the beach and take pictures even before my morning coffee!
The day I took this, the ocean was calm, but as you can see the storm was not far off shore. There are rocks at low tide this year. Many of them jagged enough to make you not want to walk into the water without protection. And there is sand. Soft and inviting.
In this photo you can see the sun to the right and the active rain to the left. Near the top you can see the open sky. The sky over my head was pretty much like that, clear.
As I played with my camera and the light on the water and the rocks, it began to rain on me. Not a down pour, but enough that I had to hide my camera under my T-shirt as I made my way back inside. I looked up to find only a few wispy clouds, not “rain” clouds.
It’s all a bit like my life these days. I think I know whats going on but really I don’t. I have my things going on, but we all have circumstances we face that make us second guess, and wonder “What in the world is going on!?!”
We are not in control….
In that one photo I find the sovereignty of God and the paradoxes of life all present. I see the sun, clouds, clear sky, rain, rocks, sand, smooth water and waves. I thought I was in a dry place, but turns out I was wrong.
I can react to my circumstances or I can respond. I see a fine difference between these words.
React: “to behave or change in a particular way when something happens, is said, etc.”
Respond: “To make a reply; answer.”
I see the main difference between the two words being the idea of change. When I react, I am changing something in our around me because of what was said or done. Response on the other hand is more about an answer that does not necessarily require change.
For me, reacting is more sudden and jolting ,like being knocked over by an unexpected wave. Reacting to me seems more of a reflex than a choice. Change is nearly always less agreeable than responding.
Responding, is keeping my feet firmly planted in the truth of God and His word. When I remember that my Creator is loving, that I am not in control, and this really is OK, then I find myself f in a position to respond. I can answer, not out of fear, but from calm assurance that somehow, because of who God is, and my relationship with God, it’ll be OK.
“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” 1 Cor. 10:13
I don’t have to be tossed all over the place by the whim of seemingly capricious circumstances, reacting without an anchor. God really does know about it and he really does love each of us. It is possible to take one day, or if need be, one moment at a time.
When the rain began to fall I could choose to mutter unpleasant things under my breath and scramble to protect my camera, or to respond. I carefully put it under my t-Shirt and meandered back in the rain, enjoying the smell and the gentleness of it.
What do you really believe when your circumstances change? How can you respond more often than react?
