You created the north and the south; Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name. – Psalm 89:12

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 6, 2019): Psalm 89

Oh, Canada! Land of strong words, even if they are politely spoken. In the Americas, there is no place that is further north. Canada claims to be the “True North. Strong and Free.” Just over the top of the world stands one of our neighbors – Russia. To the South, the United States. But Canada proudly proclaims themselves as the North, at least the True North of the Americas. We have even borrowed terminology from the George R. R. Martin’s epic “A Song of Ice and Fire,” more commonly known as “A Game of Thrones.” The NBA’s Toronto Raptors proudly proclaim that “We Are the North.” Their alternate jersey’s just read out “North.” After all, isn’t that enough? The Northernmost Football Team in the Canadian Football League, a version of American Football, not soccer, played on a slightly larger field with only three downs and a lovely innovation called a “rouge” giving the opposing team one point for a ball downed in the end zone after a punt, is the Edmonton Eskimos. They have used the words “Defend the North” as their team slogan. Canada really is the North, so we might as well make use of that fact.

But there is another reality to living in the north. At times, especially during the winter, the north is also snowy and very cold. So many of us like to flee south, at least for a little while, to enjoy the warmer temperatures offered in places like Florida or Arizona. Or, if we are fortunate, Mexico, Hawaii, or a balmy island in the Caribbean. We are proud to be the North, but if we can be somewhere warmer during the month of January, why wouldn’t we go. Okay, so Canadians aren’t just polite, we are also a little fickle.

The Psalmist writes that God created the North and the South. He created both the places where the snow flies as well as the areas where the warm breezes blow. He set Mount Tabor in the West and Mount Hermon in the east to dominate the sky of Israel. There is no place where you can go to escape him. If I walk in a snowy blizzard, he is there. If I stroll across a sandy beach, God is still there. If I bath my feet in the Pacific Ocean or the Atlantic Ocean, I still have not escaped his presence. He is there.

And for fickle snowbirds (a snowbird is defined as a person who lives in the cold north but likes to winter in the warmer south) this is a good thing. Because wherever we go, we can be assured that God is with us.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 1