Category: Writing

Looking out the living room window the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage sighed very deeply and said, “When will this stinking rain stop?”

I chuckled to myself very carefully not to let it come up to the surface of my face to let on to anybody in the room.

She turned around and said to me, “I am just about done with all this rain.”

With a fake grimace on my face I said, “I don’t know, but I’m done with it too.”

I had to walk away at that point because I could not control the chuckles that were rising to the level of my face.

When I got some control of my emotions I thought to myself, this must be how Noah felt. Whenever it rains as it has been doing lately, I usually think of Noah. Only this time I was thinking of Noah’s wife.

Listening to my wife talk about the rain, I could not help but think maybe this is exactly what Noah’s wife was saying to him.

“Noah,” his wife said, “when will this stinking rain stop?” Then I can imagine her saying, “I can handle one day of rain or maybe two, but this is getting to be ridiculous.”

After all, Noah’s wife was just like anybody else’s wife especially the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage.

Knowing my wife like I do, I know she likes to be in control. From the moment she gets up in the morning until she goes to bed at night, she likes to be in control. When something is going on that she cannot control, then we have a different situation.

Could that be said of Noah’s wife? This rain was coming down day after day after day for 40 days and 40 nights. Nothing had ever happened like that before. I believe Noah’s wife was a little frustrated with the fact that she was not in control with the rain.

My wife gets up every morning with a large list of things she wants to accomplish during the day. I need to be careful because sometimes she has one of her “Honey-Do-Lists” for you know who. She is very productive in her day and she hardly sits down to rest. She is proactive all day long.

When she decides to do something, she does it no matter what.

Now, for the last several weeks it has been raining just about every day. She enjoys yard work and even mowing. Now with the rain, it has disrupted her schedule.

The fact that she cannot control the rain carries with it a little hidden giggle inside of me. She takes pride in planning her day and fulfilling her plan to the letter. She is in control of everything.

Everything, that is, except the rain. I know the rain is playing with her.

Several times, especially this past week, the morning started out bright and sunny with barely a cloud in the air. When my wife saw that, she was very excited.

“Finally,” she said almost hysterically, “I can do some mowing.”

With that, she was laughing and very excited and prepared to go out to do some mowing.

I think there was a cloud hidden somewhere watching for her because as soon as she got outside and got the mower running the rain started to come.

With a great deal of haste she put the mower away and come inside to dry off.

As soon as she was inside and got dried off a little bit, the rain stopped, the clouds faded away and the sun was shining. She looked out and with a big smile on her face said, “Finally, this rain is over.”

She got outside, got the lawn mower out and ready to go and was mowing for five minutes and as I watched I could see that smile on her face. Nothing she enjoys more than riding that lawnmower and making the lawn look beautiful.

Suddenly, I heard thunder in the distance and then came the rain.

As quickly as possible, she put the lawnmower away and ran inside dripping with rain. I did my best to get out of her way because this was not one of her “Happy Moods.”

For the rest of the day she was working in her craft room and I heard her under her breath say, “Rain, rain go away and never come back any other day.” I sympathize with her because the rain had kept me from doing some things I wanted to do.

If rain is the only thing my wife cannot control she is a very lucky person. I, for instance, cannot control very many things in my life. I would like to, but it just is not in the cards for me.

I cannot imagine Noah sitting in that ark for over a year not being able to control anything. That is the essence of what faith is all about. If I can control a situation, why do I need God?

I need to exchange my pride for faith in God. It reminds me of one of my favorite Bible verses. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

The best things in my life are those that are beyond my control where I can begin to see God at work in that situation.

The Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road, Ocala, FL 34472. He lives with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, in Ocala, Florida. Call him at 352-687-4240 or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. The church web site is www.whatafellowship.com