Before our family moved from California to Tennessee, I looked up their weather, a lot. You can’t imagine how many people warned me, “You’re going to hate the heat there. Ugh, humidity. I hear there are tornadoes and flooding. The winters are brutally cold.” Many of these same folks had never even stepped foot on Tennessee soil.
Still, I heeded their warnings. I wanted to be prepared for this new state. So, I read The Tennessean, their Nashville paper each night before going to bed. I watched for a whole year and tracked the difference between the mild weather in California and fluctuating seasons in Tennessee.
Nothing prepared me for being here. I’ve become an official card-carrying weather-junky. It’s been surprisingly one of my favorite things about our move. The weather here is unpredictable and that brings an element of excitement I’d never experienced before. Being from such a gentle Mediterranean climate pampered me without even knowing it. Here I witness God’s seasons in such incredible ways. Fall, of course, being my favorite. I like to tell people, “It’s like autumn on steroids.” Every season is like this here – BIGGER and so much more AWE inspiring. It’s truly incredible.
Paul and I spend so much time looking up at the sky and smiling at colors and cloud formations we’ve never seen before, or stepping outside when gusts and gales of wind break out for no reason. We’re like children with our arms open wide, laughing at the joy of being gently pushed by powerful blasts.
Summer thunderstorms are my absolute favorite and the humidity isn’t even close to the tortuous hell I’d been warned about. Tornadoes are as rare as a BIG earthquake hitting Sacramento. Seeing the mist on the Smokey Mountains took my breath away, while Spring here surprised me with flowers in fluorescent blues and greens and brought bright red cardinals I’d never seen before dancing from tree to tree.
I know these dear friends meant well with their warnings. Still, I’d spent so much time preparing for this weather, reading about this weather, thinking about this weather and yes, even fearing this weather, it never occurred to me it would be one of the greatest gifts God has given me here.
It reminds me of how, as Christians, we read the stories of the great saints before us; Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Gideon and the likes, while comfy in our easy chairs, sipping our coffee in our spiritual weather of Mediterranean mediocrity, while wrongfully thinking, That kind of faith is much too scary. or Those adventures were for them, for those days. Or, I could never do that.
Friends, don’t miss out on the glorious adventure that beckons you today. Open the door wide and step out into the tempest. Those adventures we not only for them for then. Don’t allow others warnings to halt your forward steps. His story unfolds with each breath we take. Brave the gales and gusts and laugh at what a change in your “spiritual” atmosphere may bring. Maybe it’s time to take that step out into the unknown and change your scenery a bit? No matter where you step – He is already there.
“The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 3:18
Thank you! I felt a whoosh of negative ions (a good thing) waft over me as I read your post. Energized and ready to step out.
Yay!
So lovely, Joanne. Makes me want to run outside at midnight and look at the stars.
A seasonal life. I’m certainly living one. And there is always beauty to be found.
peace~elaine
This season WILL pass. xo
Crazy you should post this. I was outside getting wood the other evening when that side of the house was pitch black with only the Malibu lights softly glowing my path, and I looked up. You know there are few neighborhood lights up in Rescue so the night’s sky was as dark and as brilliant as I’d ever seen it. I take it all too much for granted all of God’s wonder and glory. It reminded me to “look up” more often. For some reason, I felt like I’d missed that sky. Looking up and getting out more, Joanne…but still not moving to TN. XO
How pretty, Katie. I’m sure it was just lovely.
I hardly ever comment on blogs, but have to because it is just too ironic! My husband and I have been thinking of moving to TN for the last year and I have had my weather app set to Franklin & our city that entire time. We live in MN, so it is like torture seeing your 60 degrees when we have -40 degrees. He has a coworker who has been warning him of the humidity in TN, but we also have horrible humidity here so to give up the 9 months of winter I think I would be ok with 🙂 I literally found your blog tonight because I am procrastinating and decided to look up an IG hashtag to see what beautiful weather I’m missing out on (when we have had our 6th day of school called off for blizzards in the past few weeks)… which led me to your IG, then this blog. Thanks for sharing & I’m so glad to hear some positive stories about the temperamental weather 🙂
Suzy–I know we corresponded earlier this year, but what did you decide? Are you headed south for the winter? 😉