Mid-morning, the heat index flirted with the century mark, not atypical for July in northwest Missouri. By mid-day, a dark sky moved in with its cool winds, head-butting the mercury downward by fifteen degrees in less than an hour. As we drove through Saint Joe, the breeze seemed almost chilly.

Such is the nature of weather across most of the country and, from rumors and reports we hear from time to time, across the planet. No doubt, it’s a common saying in parts of Russia, places in China and certain segments of Slobovnia, “If you don’t like our weather, just wait a couple of days; it’ll change.”

It seems that some aspects of our economy have taken on a similar nature: gas and other energy prices, hiring practices, and the marketplace. Employment in some sectors becomes an oxymoron while jobs flourish in another. Some people accumulate tremendous profits while others struggle to get unemployment claims accepted. Even in the worst of times, some people gain an advantage. Even in the best of times, some experience loss.

It is not a sparing from these fickle changes of the world that people of faith have gained. Rather, it is a securing of those things permanent, which endure beyond the world and its fluctuations. The comfort of salvation instead of the striving of desperation. The peace that comes from knowing that this season of mortality and its afflicting fears will be replaced by an endless age of blessing. The beauty of holiness instead of the deceits of appearance. A present knowing of faith, hope and love and that incredible liberation of knowing that love will endure even after faith and hope have been fulfilled. Now that’s a change worth waiting for.