Hot, Hot, Hot

Butterflies Alive!  Ginter Botanical Garden.  Copyright 2012: singeronthesand

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; 

in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, 

and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, 

the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

2 Peter 3:10

 I was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, where, as the old saying goes, you can fry eggs on the sidewalk in the summer.  You can also fry your feet and anything else that inadvertently comes into contact with either concrete or asphalt, you can fry your legs (if you are dumb enough to get in a hot car with leather seats), and you can quite literally fry your brain with heatstroke.  Growing up, the 100 degree temperatures would start in June and be finished by the end of August, or the first week of September at the latest.  By the time I left Phoenix for good in the 1990's, the 100 degree temps started in March and ended in October.  I hadn't heard about "global warming" back then, but I certainly was familiar with the lengthening pattern of extremely hot temperatures.  I used to have a t-shirt that proclaimed me a survivor of 122º heat that occurred one August.  To be truthful, it didn't feel all that much hotter than 114º, which I experienced day after day on a yearly basis.  There is always a huge discussion about how Phoenix' heat is "dry" heat, but we often received our highest temperatures in late July/August when the "monsoons" descended with a significant rise in humidity.

In 2002, my life and my family ended up in Virginia - first in Lynchburg and then in Richmond.  I was grateful for the release from the extreme heat, and have really enjoyed living here - until this year.  This past winter, we didn't actually have a winter:  no real snow, higher temperatures, spring flowers busting out in February.  Everyone guessed that this summer would be hotter than usual, but I don't think anyone thought it was going to be like this:  100 degree temperatures for five straight days, with 101º yesterday, 104º slated for today (101º with 35% humidity as I write), and an unbelievable 108º on tap for tomorrow - obviously with much higher humidity than anything we ever had in Phoenix!  Global warming?  I have no idea, but a stunning heat wave, for sure!  Relief is coming on Monday, but the price we might pay for that is severe thunderstorms and wind this weekend.

The Bible says that when Christ comes again, the very elements of the earth will melt away with "fervent heat."  I'm sure that would be significantly hotter than anything I've ever felt, including 122º!  It behooves me, then, to be certain that when God finally draws His proverbial line in the sand, I will be standing on His side - secure in my faith, protected by His love.