I love my career. I get great satisfaction giving what I call actionable news. As a certified Meteorologist, I deliver news you can use. Let’s face it, in the news, being a weather woman doesn't stink. I’m not going to fib; the science part was brutal. If I had collected all the tears I spilled over the three-year period it took to get my certification, it would have been at least a couple of fifty-five-gallon drums worth of crying. I know I have one of the most coveted jobs across the country, so it was worth every tear.
As a meteorologist, I tap into the emotions of the day as I prepare the forecast. If there’s a tragic incident like a school shooting, it’s my job to deliver the weather in a serious but optimistic tone. I don’t make jokes or try to be funny, but I do let people know that the sun will be out the next day and that we will be okay.
“We’re starting the day cloudy and gray but by the afternoon, the sun will break through, and the temperatures will feel soothing.” This is a skill I’ve developed over the years.
If on the other hand, there’s a celebration happening like a championship game and it’s going to be cool, I would say, "It’s going to be below average tomorrow, but with all the festivities around town for the game, who needs more heat, right?” I implement these simple comments to connect with the folks at home.
All of this brings me immense joy. Being helpful, of service, and optimistic are attributes God combined when he made me. These aren’t characteristics I can take credit for. I just do my best with what he gave me, which also includes being stubborn, impatient, short-fused, and, yes, even angry (ask anyone in my family). I wish I didn’t have the latter, but you must embrace the good and the bad to keep yourself in check.
Finding the silver-lining
Monday through Friday, we make it a rule to keep the television turned off at our house while I’m there. We get the Wall Street Journal and that’s our only source of news at home. Each night I work three and a half hours of live news, five days a week. I sit in the studio and listen for all three and a half hours. I do my best not to listen, but it’s hard not to. Robberies, shootings, fights, kids overdosing on Fentanyl, government misconduct, more taxes, homelessness, corrupt politicians, the list goes on and on. Let me ask you, when was the last time you watched a newscast from beginning to end and how did you feel, not so optimistic, right? I understand that part of my job is to help viewers forget all that negativity even if it’s only for a few minutes. So, here’s what I would say. “June gloom continues, but this is good because it’s slowing down the snow melt and allowing the ground to gradually saturate instead of having all that precious water just run off,” a silver lining.
I’ve always been optimistic and cheerful. Although lately, I find it more challenging to pull myself out of the doldrums as I drive home from work. I remind myself that God is my source and my joy. He knows what’s going on and will make it better. “Do not grieve for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” That’s what Nehemiah says, right? Trusting that God is with me and helping me through the frustrating, ugly moments gives me great comfort. There are so many times I see things on TV while at work that infuriate me and make me feel bitter, that I have nowhere or no one to turn to but God.
I know I’m supposed to love, forgive, turn the other cheek, and hand over my cloak, but honestly, it’s difficult to feel that way sometimes. When I see hordes of teenagers flash mobbing and destroying businesses, it makes me angry at them and sad for the business owners.
“Where are their parents, who raised these kids, what’s wrong with them?” I scream in my head. No wonder businesses leave these neighborhoods. I watch in confusion, not understanding how this happens. This is their neighborhood, why are they destroying it? When I see that, I don’t feel like handing over my cloak, only a good spanking. This is when I dig deep and give thanks for all I have, for the beauty around me and the joy in the world. On rough nights, I turn on my App and recite the Rosary all the way home. Meditating on the Lord’s prayer and on the Hail Mary pulls me out of the dark place and takes me back into the light of the Lord and to a place of tranquility.
Distinguishing joy vs. happiness
As I meditated on the words in Nehemiah 8, I wondered about the difference between happy and joy. When I think about how I feel when I experience joy, it’s profound and intense, like light shining from within my heart out to the world. It feels soothing and transcendent like a deep state of bliss. It makes me think of a life’s journey. Happy on the other hand feels like a fleeting moment, like birthday candles being blown out, or scoring 100% on a spelling test, knowing next week another will come, or how I feel after achieving a goal, then realizing there’s another one behind it. Happy feels like a destination, a place you arrive at but eventually must leave.
Experiencing joy amidst the chaos isn’t easy when you’re bombarded with it daily, but rejoicing in the teachings of the Lord gives me hope. It reminds me that God is good, that life is good, and that there is beauty and goodness in everything, even in destruction if you look long enough. I remember that at any instant, each of us can be changed by the love of God. I remember that we’re all sinners, that it is not for me to judge. As I watch the throng of teens destroying a McDonald’s for no apparent reason, the rage fills me, then I say a silent prayer for them.
“Forgive them father for they know not what they do.”
Still in my fury, I remember that in the same way I judge others, I will be judged. God is forgiving, merciful, and just and it is not for me to sentence anyone. Then I pray, “Forgive me Father, for I know what I do.”
Only love can defeat hate, and God loved us so much that he sacrificed his only son for us. The joy of the Lord is my strength.
Article Written for BUT GOD MAGAZINE Summer 2023 Edition
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