Proverbs 27:20 – Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied. (KJV)

At the beginning of August here in British Columbia, Canada, we are setting record temperatures, while experiencing the longest straight stretch of a heat wave for only the third time since 1880.

While in parts of our province, wildfires are springing up in alarming numbers, filling the air with smoke, a look at the clear blue sky where I live on Vancouver Island brings to mind the ending words in Home on the Range: "and the skies are not cloudy all day."

My usual hour-long walk has dwindled to half an hour before 9 a.m. and even then, perspiration is prevalent. "Is it hot enough for you?" is the most common greeting one receives, quite the contrast to those of last winter, when we were gripped with freezing temperatures and piles of snow.

I do not make light of the thousands of people who have been evacuated or are on notice. Nor do I ignore the fact that this heat is hard on the sick and elderly and that there are those whose health is greatly compromised by the poor quality of air. It is not that I am righteous or above reproach, or that I do not feel the heat. It is, though, that when I am at my hottest, even when I find the heat takes my breath away and I am about to complain, that I remind myself of a newspaper clipping sitting on my kitchen table. As if it were set in sepia, it shows four soldiers in full gear, marching through the heat and sandstorm in Afghanistan. No stops for water, no cool basements, no fans, no summer shorts and tank tops, always the threat of hidden improvised explosive devices and warfare.

Oh yes, I am blessed, for there is so much for which to be thankful.

Prayer: Lord, before we open our mouths to complain, may our minds remind us to see all for which we have to be grateful. In Your name we pray and give thanks for this day. Amen.

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About the author:

Mary Daniel <marydee@shaw.ca>
Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
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