Controlling Rain

It’s going to rain tomorrow. How do I know? Not because I’m a budding meteorologist or psychic. I don’t even need to look out the window. But because this is China. And October 1^st will always be a clear and sunny day. In the same way that November 15 is declared “cold” and March 15 is predictably “warm.” Weather, among other things, can be reliably manipulated for our purposes.

Few things in life offer such certainty. The Chinese government plays to a basic human desire to have predictable control always within one's grasp. OK, be honest, don’t you want that too? Don’t you wish you could say,

“On October 1, 2009, my children will deeply love each other and cease fighting forevermore.”

OR

“On October 1, 2009, from this day forward, my husband will fully grasp and respond to my every concern.”

OR

“On October 1, 2009, this annoying ____ (fill in your blank—person, habit, environment, job, conflict, relationship, will GO AWAY FOREVER.)

OR how about (why hold back?)

“On October 1, 2009, I will reach perfected maturity.”

We orient our lives this way in our will to control, don’t we? I may not be able to reign in my emotional state, but I can make sure my house is spotless! Or maybe an illusion of control comes through exercise, eating habits, or the internet? Or maybe it’s much more subtle than that… Undetectable manipulations in relationships—avoiding certain people, excessive busyness, compulsive niceness? Sometimes our desire for control can become so insidious, we don’t even see it ourselves.

In a brief search, google promises me I can gain control over:

-my enemies

-pain

-stress

-acne

-emotional spending

-my career

-my mind

-your mind (You can't stop me; I'm actually doing this to you right now.)

A quote for thought:

“Relying on the will (self-control) to make things happen keeps us focused on the self. Life lived with resolve and determination is life lived apart from surrender. It is living with clenched-fisted doggedness. It is living the illusion that I can be in control. It is the rule of life lived in the kingdom of self... Jesus invites us to come to him and relinquish the control of our life. He invites us to give up our desperate and illusory striving after autonomy. He also invites us to abandon the isolation and rigidity associated with our egocentricity. And in their place, he offers rest, fulfillment, and the discovery of our true and deepest self in Christ. When we take this step of surrender, we suddenly discover the place for which we have been unconsciously longing. Like a tool seized by a strong hand, we are at last where we belong; we know we have been found."

Surrender to Love: Discovering the Heart of Christian Spirituality by David Benner, pg 58, 60

All this insight from the Chinese government? It’s just that now I’m thinking it’s not too strange, making it rain. I’m actually feeling a bit sympathetic now. Don’t we all try to play God sometimes? Well, I can promise you one thing-- as sure as I'm going to be perfect tomorrow, I know it's going to rain.