Water, I have been thinking about water recently-a lot. It is an amazing element. It is a perplexing conundrum which keeps us alive and yet can kill us. It brings us comfort and it brings us distress. It warms us and freezes us.

We think that we can control and harness it and we can sometimes. However, when released in a free form like rain, we are helpless to keep the force of water reined in. We cannot stop the storm or divert the water from falling on vulnerable areas.

I am in Vermont for the summer. If you watched the news this week, you would know that Vermont has experienced a rage of uncontrollable water. It has been a wet summer and the ground is saturated. This week’s wide-ranging rainstorm poured billions of gallons on water for many hours on this rural mountain state. The result was torrents of rain cascading down the mountains and into the valley streams and rivers.

These rivers and streams, while beautiful and picturesque on a clear summer day, have been turned into malicious, dangerous wet monsters, wreaking havoc throughout the communities along their banks. It is tragic. These communities have been beaten before by uncontrollable water but generally with more years between these events.

Then for me, living right on Lake Champlain, I am watching the lake fill up with forest detritus and silt from the rivers. And, of course, more water. But in the case of the lake, the water becomes an asset. The lake has been low for the past few years. Since it is the major supplier of water to the communities on both sides of the lake (Vermont and New York), the addition of more water is a good thing, especially since it is not causing property or bodily damage. More conundrum material.

Where does God come into this scene? We pray that there will be no deaths or injuries; we ask that the property damage be minimized. We pray that God will lead us to actions that can divert the course of climate change. One cannot escape the numerous scriptural references to God as the Living Water. How does that fit into our reality?

I believe that God created the world with a set of physical laws that it must follow. The world does not have the ability to make its own decisions. If there is too much CO2 in the atmosphere, it reacts in a certain way. I also believe that God does not step in to interfere with these rules.

However, I do believe that God is the Living Water that sustains us through adversity and serenity.

I believe that there is a reason for these events, and it is beyond my understanding.

I believe that there is a goal that we must discern together and carry out together. We get closer to that goal by working through tragedies with our fellow travelers. We build up our reserves of compassion and empathy as we view these events and practice ways to mitigate others’ suffering.

Did anyone say this would be easy?

Turn to scripture for guidance and comfort. See Matt 7:25 and the heavy rain falls, the swollen torrents come, and the winds blow and beat against the house; yet it does not fall, for its foundation is on rock.

We know this “rock.” It is our God who loves us unconditionally.

Terri