Adversity

 Mercifully, the weather is cooler this morning, and the air is somewhat cleaner than it was yesterday.

The striations on the face of the sun is a cloud of wild fire smoke. No, Jupiter has not moved in close to us, though one might be tempted to believe so.

Marine air is moving in to shove a heat dome away from us so the temperatures may drop to more normal rates. While the heat is bad, I do have a little box fan that sits on a cart for office suppplies that I can turn on to get a little relief from the heat. however, the fire smoke is at the mercy of the currents in the air, and fires in northern Califronia and Oregon can entrain smoke in the upper atmosphere or at ground level, and only a sufficiently strong wind current can change the conposition of the atmosphere to clear the air of pollutants. I pray for the change to set in soon, and a little rain to follow.

It does not need to be thaat way it is, and no doubt, a large scale change in the hearts of men might rescue us all from things like wildfire smoke. Unfortuantely, only turning off internal combustion engines can clear out the air. The pollution can clear ut when more normal atmospheric parameters are in sway. Winds off the ocean are the norm around here, or at least was the norm until recent years. If you watch Youtube videos it is easy to get discouraged about the condition of the atmosphere. Nevertheless, by the same token, it is easy to see catastrophic violence in the atmosphere brought about by excesses in patterns of disruption cuased by increasing warming and consequent displacement of airmasses. 

The overall normal pattern has always been the weather coming off the pacific ocean and travelling in large waves of the jet stream steering air masses from northwest to southeast. In recent years, winds have been shifted to the east where the atmosphere is overheated by unmoving high pressure causing inordinate heating of the atmosphere and a lack of rain. The result has been desert-like conditions in parts of the country usually bathed in clement cool moist airmasses.

Besides being unbearably warm, the air has been unusually hot and dry as well, similarly to a desert environment.

But lately scientists have noticed the development of rainy weather beginning in the Saharan desert. This has disrupted the hurricane season by helping prevent hurricanes from forming in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico . The hot dry air is being rerouted. Changes in the weather, climate, means more violent weather in the United Kingdom and Europe, with violent heavy rain and hail have moved in stalled in various places not used to such excesses. The excesses of inordinate heat and drought or massive rainfall has led to very  unusually strong winds and heavy hail falls as well as flash floods and large urban flooding to which the inhabitants are not accustomed.

I have always enjoyed the surprise thunderstorms and winter snow. Several years ago, we had very cold weather so that the ground was dry and freezing cold, and moisture overriding the area brought heavy blowing snow - it was amazing to see, but has not been repeated since. Conditions that might have set in, did not, and the cold was insufficient to cause much snow, or even much rain. The cold air masses don't carry much moisture, which has led to large regions of unsual drought.

All of these things can be the topic of prayer. It is a charitable thing to remember those who have nothing, losing even the rain to grow their crops. While great floods wipe out large regions, other areas become inhospitable.

All these conditions as well as wars and violence or health crises are amenable to prayer, and those suffering under adversity will welcome our prayers. If we pray often and with intensity, they will come to know of it and God's blessings may be seen visibly.

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I obtained thethings I wanted which were for others, but it cost me - a great deal.