More often than not, we were blessed with clear blue skies, a sweet breeze (which could drop temperatures anywhere between a nice 70-something degrees to a God-forsaken, chilly temperature in the mid-fifties), and a feeling of clarity in the air that I had never felt in the sweltering, humid summers of the South (which I may or may not miss…usually not).  These were the days we had long awaited during our long, long, LONG winter…and blissfully enjoyed as much as we possibly could!

…open up the skies of mercy…rain down Your cleansing flood…

But there were also days where the sky would turn a bit darker…and grayer…as it would (usually) pour down its week long offering of precipitation, filling up the ponds, lakes, and rivers to their fullest capacities (and sometimes being overly generous, leading to many a flood warnings). 

MSU under [Red Cedar] water!!

I can’t golf under these conditions! (as if I could in any condition)

While it’s been a pleasant summer, the back and forth of the weather (the warmth of the sun giving way to the chilly winds giving way to skies that pour down more than abundant rain) is a bit unsettling.  It’s like the sky is smiling one minute…and then crying the next.

It makes me wonder…does the sky know that this summer may be the last Michigan summer we get to partake of?  Does it know in just one short year, it is a real possibility that the An family will need to pick up our lives and, as we take on the next step as a physician, physician’s wife, and physician’s canine, move to places unknown again? 

There are those days when our joy radiates like sunshine and clear skies, as a fellowship program offers him an interview.  But those days are closely followed by the storm clouds of realization that the interview is taking place in Colorado, opening the floodgates of fearful tears as the doubts start creeping in.  COLORADO?  We don’t know anything (or, more importantly, anyONE) in Colorado!  Will I be able to find ANOTHER job in ANOTHER new town??  We would be starting from square one again!

And that’s just the beginning…there are so many other places where we could end up.  New Jersey…Florida…Nevada…Oklahoma…and (our greatest hope) remaining in Michigan (or more specifically in the Lansing area).

So many questions.  So many uncertainties.  So much excitement accompanied by the fear of not knowing what lies ahead for us.  It’s enough to leave the strongest of us in a haze of doubt and worry.

It’s in these times we need to be reminded that the sun (Son) always shines through…and even if the way it (He) shines is unfamiliar to us, it (He) shines brightly.  It (He) gives us peace and hope that, despite the “chill” that accompanies that (His) beautiful light, there is always clarity in the crisp, cool summer light.  And even when the storm clouds darken the sky, we can rejoice because we know that with the rain (Him) comes abounding provision…so much that the ponds/lakes/rivers that have run dry will be filled…no, FLOODED…with the blessings that pour down from above.

So, we will trust in His goodness…and His plans to give us a future and a hope.  And whatever form the blessings take that fall upon us, we will give thanks to the our Lord God.

• The desire of our heart is to remain here…so, if it is His will, that God would pave a way for that to happen.

• If it is NOT in His plan to have us remain here, that God would give us peace that He has what’s best in store for us.  Also, that He would provide us with the means to be able to transition to a new place (especially a job for me, as I will need to work while InChul/Tyler is doing his GI fellowship).