Rain

We woke up this morning to rain.

We had hoped for something more.

Don’t get me wrong. I can savor the awesome, early morning sound of rain on the rooftop as well as any tender-hearted singer/songwriter type out there.

But we were hoping for something more. Something white and fluffy. Something sticking to the ground, willing to stay with us for a few hours of exquisite, government-sanctioned downtime.

We were looking for a snow day. It didn’t happen.

Instead, we got rain, by the buckets full. Cold rain, 34 degree rain. A few measley degrees colder, and we’d be celebrating like the folks in Blairsville this morning.

Blairsville!!!!!!!!!

The worst part came at about a quarter till seven, when we had to wake our sleeping first grader. “Did it snow?” he asked, still warm and groggy from his long winter’s nap.

“No. It just rained. There’s gonna be school.”

With a tear in his eye, he got up and dutifully got ready to take on the day.

Disappointment can be a bitter pill. Especially when you turn on the local news and see the scornful radar displayed in shades of white, pink and green.

Douglasville? All green, baby. Rain.

It’s tough to see the hateful truth played out in your living room in living color. God is snowing on the people just to your north when you’re a Southerner so close to the holy grail of a “snow day.”

If you’re from Minnesota, there’s no way you can understand the concept of disappointment in not getting ice or snow. You have to be from the land of “I need to get to the grocery store NOW to get milk, eggs and bread,” to understand.

And so, I suspect this blog greets many of you in wet, cold and less-than-festive moods this morning.

Maybe this will help.

This is one of my favorite time of year for TV, even though I hate to admit it.

It’s American Idol audition time, and it’s compelling TV because the drama of disappointment is perfectly played out for the audience.

If you’re not among the 40 million Americans who watch the yearly, amateur singing competition, then you’ve missed some quite wondrous moments of entertainment.

With each initial audition, we witness the birth of hope and possibility, and its growth into full-blown joy or deepest despair.

Phrases like, “I’m going to Hollywood!!!” or “Dawg, singing --- not your thing” are well-known to Idol fans.

Without fail, each episode showcases moments of disappointment. Potential contestants will have hoped for something more than they found in the judges’ reactions. The tone-deaf, ignorant of their missing skill sets, will learn the harsh news --- they absolutely cannot sing.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but…” Simon Cowell will say, and you always know something amazingly rude is about to come next.

When asked about his penchant for crushing the untalented with his brutal honesty, and whether he ever feels bad for telling the truth, Simon said, “"No, what I am doing is kind by telling people who are useless 'Do something that you're good at'. So I would only feel guilt if I misled somebody who was terrible."

That’s how disappointment works, you know.

Sometimes, life takes a Simon-esque turn. “Look,” life says, “you thought something else was going to happen. It’s not. Find another way.”

Obviously, some disappointments are harder to take than others. A lost snow day can be forgotten by lunch. A lost job, a broken relationship, a crashed dream…these take more time and work for healing to happen.

But it can happen. Disappointment means a new direction, and that new direction can be better than any we’d ever imagined.

“Dawg…” sometimes singing’s just not your thing. Something else is.

Psalm 31 reminds us:
Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was beset as a city under siege. I had said in my alarm, ‘I am driven farcut off from your sight.’ But you heard my supplications when I cried out to you for help."

Sometimes we wish for snow…and God sends it to Blairsville. You know what I mean.

Life moves, and turns, and the road rolls out before us, or maybe even drops, for just a moment, from beneath us. Don’t give up.

He hears you.

Grace & Peace,

Adam

LIFE AT SOTH:
Great things are in the works at SOTH! This Sunday we’ll begin to see some of the great work come to fruition that our Communications team has worked on since the Spring of 2006! We’ll be revealing our new “On the Path of Life…Together” logo, and also unveiling some new graphics in Sunday worship and a brand new, full-color worship guide.

In coming days, a complete overhaul of our website, sothumc.net will be ready as well. All of these great tools help communicate the spirit, life and faith of our congregation to the world around us, and invites them to come take part in the great things happening at our church!

LAND ACQUISITION UPDATE: Our land acquisition process has changed and developed since our last congregational meeting in November. We will have another town-hall information session during Sunday School, in our worship space: Next Sunday, February 11th, at 10:15 a.m. Don’t miss this important time of information and discussion before our scheduled charge conference.

Our D.S. Jacqui Rose-Tucker will be on hand the morning of February 18th as the congregation votes on the proposed land purchase. One worship service only that morning, 10 AM.

SOTH This Sunday: Our new worship schedule continues to do well! Come out for worship at 9 a.m. or 11 a.m. for part 4 of our New Year’s series based on Rick Warren’s 2006 book, God’s Answers to Life’s Difficult Questions. This week: How Can I Have Confidence in Crisis? At 10:15, we’ll continue our new adult SS class in the worship space with the Gospel of John, chapters 4 and 5.

Servant Evangelism Update: Tim Potate and Lamar Gilstrap will be leading a servant evangelism event at Arbor Place Mall on Valentine’s Day, February 14th. Join them and other SOTH members as they engage in simple acts of kindness to illustrate the grace and love of God in our community.

Book Study: A new book study, Facing Your Giants will begin meeting at the home of Tim and Ellie Potate, Monday night, February 19th at 6:30 PM.