We may be past the dry, hot weather that we have endured since early August. At least for a while, our days are not as hot, and our soil has tasted rain. The Gulf storm Nestor, while causing great harm south of us, provided us with much needed rain. Our yard of Iredell County clay on Lake Norman had developed small cracks, but the Nestor rain closed those. While the harm done by the storm in some areas is dreadful, the moisture we received is much celebrated.

When a sibling or I would whine to our mother about the cold or the wet or the heat or the dry, she would say, “Don’t worry ’bout that; that’s His business,” with the calm and assurance that only a person of faith could muster. Too young to fully understand, we would listen and obey until the next bout of disagreeable weather came along. Then the whines came again as only a child can produce.

The recent dry weather caused me to recall her words, and the ones read for Sunday School in James 5:7 in which James the Just tells us, “the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.” I like to think that my mother’s words were a loving translation for her children telling us that like the 1^st Century farmer, we had to wait on the early and late rain for our crops. Her words were a comfort to our young souls telling us not to worry, but to carry on and keep faith. Someone larger was in charge.

Another mother, one of brothers in the all-boys’ school where I worked, taught me the same lesson, but in different words. As the Dean of Students, discipline of the students was one of my main responsibilities. As she and I discussed some aspect of my work, she looked at me and said, “Roger, control an illusion.” Ann’s four words changed the way I worked then and forever as an educator.

Yet, we strive for control in our lives not remembering James’ words. Here on Lake Norman many lawns are constantly watered in order to keep them green—after all, Lake water is easy to capture, Even this morning when leaving for church, I saw some sprinklers busily spinning to wet the lawn, after a night of good rain.

However, James the Just—and my mother—offer a better way: know that the seasonal rains will come, and don’t worry about His business. He’s in control.

Roger Barbee lives in Mooresville. Contact him at rogerbarbee@gmail.com