Mark Katrick: Much like on summer mission trips, look to God for hope on those rainy days

As a pastor, many of my mission trips occurred in the month of June. Youth groups are just out of school and looking for other places and spaces to redirect their time and energy.

The first of these was to a church camp in Dunkirk, New York. It was a scenic place located on an overlook, with panoramic views of Lake Erie. Our mission (if we chose to accept it and gladly did) was minor maintenance and repair.

Then it rained the first day of the week. You know what the song by the Carpenters says about “Rainy Days and Mondays”? They get you down. And we stayed down on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. It rained all week, dampening our spirits in the process.

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The highlight of the week was a day trip to Niagara Falls. (It rained there, too.)

We kept busy with Bible study, games and activities and getting the cabins ready for summer camps. But there’s no better substitute for putting the Word of God into action than by getting your hands dirty to make a little corner of the world a brighter and better place (even on the cloudiest of days).

This begs a bigger question: When things don’t turn out as planned and there is (apparently) nothing to do, what will you do?

Let’s start with raising our awareness that God, through the light of Christ within and nudges from the Holy Spirit, is continuously making plans for you. In other words, after plan A, there’s always a plan B and a plan C and so on and so forth.

Just cease and desist with your whining and complaining about the weather, and stop, look and listen. There’s always a random act of kindness, an encouraging word or a good deed waiting to happen, right there in front of you.

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At Dunkirk, there was this fellow named Rich, who rode around on a golf cart, finding little things for us to do. And all of these led up to a big and memorable week for all. It seemed like it was over before we began. And we couldn’t wait to get home to plan next year’s mission trip.

I still think back on that week and the sheer force of Niagara’s whirlpool and how it feels, looks, smells and sounds. Nothing, simply nothing, will be able to halt or hinder its predetermined path.

The same is true with these unenviable tasks we are called by God to do, when there is seemingly nothing to do. When you put your toe in the water, then your foot, then the other foot, you will soon find yourself being carried downstream by a force far greater than your own.

Mark Katrick is a pastor and spiritual guide.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Mark Katrick faith column: Like on summer mission trips, look to God