Plowing the Rain?

           The slow crawl into town this morning was caused, I eventually saw, by one of our huge New England snowplows, yellow warning lights flashing, huge wheels gripping the pavement, curved blade scraping all before it. In its wake, no snow, no slush, no ice. As I slowly made it by in the passing lane, I saw before it – no snow, no slush, no ice.  Just rain puddles. It was plowing the rain.

            In this week’s New Yorker there is a cartoon depicting two men sitting together at a bar or lunch counter, with one saying to the other, “I’m looking for an easier religion.”

            Plowing the rain may be easy for a snowplow, but no one would say that is what a snowplow is made for, or that in plowing the rain the snowplow is fulfilling its highest purpose.  No one hoping to get in shape goes to the gym for a workout and lifts one pound weights if they are capable of lifting far more, or trains for a marathon by taking leisurely walks around the neighborhood. We don’t tell our children that they can learn to play the piano if they practice a minute a day, or excel at school without doing homework. 

And yet how often are we at best half-hearted when it comes to our spiritual health, seeking only to plow the rain, and being too easily satisfied with its meager rewards.