In the Good Old Summertime?

There's a time in each year
That we always hold dear,
Good old summer time;
With the birds and the treeses
And sweet scented breezes,
Good old summer time,
When your day's work is over
Then you are in clover,
And life is one beautiful rhyme,
No trouble annoying,
Each one is enjoying,
The good old summer time.
- George Evans, 1902

God bless Mr. Evans, but when he penned those lyrics 104 years ago, there was undoubtedly something he didn't take into consideration -- the temperature!! It's extremely difficult to think of "sweet scented breezes" when there's not a hint of a breeze anywhere, and the only "clover" around is the clover in my backyard that is slowing turning brown because of the tremendous heat. It seems like every time the Washington area gets out of one heat wave, another comes in right behind it and knocks us back on our rears. Tomorrow and Wednesday will only be worse -- near, at, or over 100 degrees for both days and for much of the week.

I feel horribly sluggish at times like this, and it's difficult to even consider taking the little girl outside to play for even a little while without worrying that she'll overheat. Our kittens -- who love nothing more than to sit at the door and have us open and close it repeatedly so that they can walk in and out -- don't even want to spend much time outdoors. And for the second time, my wife is going through the first major part of a pregnancy in the heat of the summer.

My patience with anything in this weather is thin. But think of those in the Old and New Testaments who dealt with temperatures like this, and didn't have central air or electric fans to fall back on -- Moses and his 40 years in the desert; Jesus and his 40 days in the Judean wilderness; Joseph and his life in Egypt. They had to have struggled with their patience while under these circumstances, but each relied on the strength of God and their faith to get them through. Circumstances are quite different -- 100-degree weather and a Washington traffic jam aren't even close to being the same as facing Egyptians, drought, and the temptations of Satan -- but staying calm and taking a moment in prayer can get us through these challenges just as they did thousands of years ago.