Whatever the weather - believe

One of the fascinating features of life in the UK is the weather!

We have definite seasons; Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, but the seasons do not have seasonal weather patterns. Snow in summer, for instance, is not a novel situation. Sports enthusiasts recollect the county cricket match between Derbyshire and Lancashire in June 1975, which was called off due to snow .

And consider this newspaper headline in July 2014,'Crazy summer weather !People in Poole had to swap their sun tan lotion for snow shovels after a freak hail storm.' We have a variety of descriptions to describe the rain.

'Raining cats and dogs'

'Bucketing it down!'

'Drizzling'

And a dialect word which is spot on when it drips all day - 'Its mizzling'

A heat wave sizzles. The hottest day on record in the UK was in June 1976, when mercury hit 35.6. However, on June 21st 2017, a temperature of 34.5 was recorded at Heathrow -- and the year isn't over yet!

In any situation, should conversation fail, a comment about the weather is sure to start it up again. American people will talk well about the total eclipse of August 21st 2017. A newspaper reported, 'Life pauses for eclipses. A rapt nation called in sick (!) to watch it happen. Scientists will pore over footage of the suns ghostly corona for years to come.' We have an irresistible fascination for anything that can blot out the sun. The previous time an eclipse was visible in the UK was on August 11th 1999. The next visible eclipse will be in 73 years time, on September 23rd, 2090. The weather is unpredictable, but the seasons of sun, moon, and stars are precise.

Of course they are! The Great Designer of the Universe created, with absolute accuracy, the Universe, and timed it to perfection. The Bible records that as God surveyed everything that He had made, He said,'This is very good . ' The longest eclipse of the sun was determined by God, when Jesus, His son, was crucified and died. We read, 'Darkness covered the earth for three hours.' The most amazing fact of time, and eternity is that Jesus rose from the dead, and is alive - forever more.

In our valley churches, on Sunday, that will be the subject of discussion - come and find out more about Gods love, kindness, care, compassion, and plan and purpose for YOUR life.