Even the Weatherman Gets Caught in the Rain

There’s something both humbling and strangely comforting about that image, isn’t there? The weatherman who is supposed to be the very person whose job it is to predict the storm, is standing there in the pouring rain. I picture said person with an oversized umbrella covering their head and a look of somewhat disbelief. For me, it’s a reminder that knowledge, preparation, and even the best-laid plans don’t guarantee the outcome we’re hoping for.

Recently I was driving in the car with my son and he played a song for me. “Hypotheticals” by Lake Street Drive.  There is a line in that song that says “even the weatherman gets caught in the rain sometimes.”  That got me thinking about the plans many of us make in January to ensure we stick to our goals or resolutions. These plans are made with our best intentions and knowledge of our current day situations and even with that being said, our plans don’t always come to fruition. Sometimes for me, my own planning often comes with stress and maybe if I am being really honest, some unrealistic expectations.  There, I said it. Can you relate?

If you made New Year’s resolutions this January, you’re probably feeling one of two things right now: either you’re riding high on momentum, or you’re already watching those carefully crafted plans slip through your fingers like water. Maybe you planned to exercise five days a week, but you got sick. Maybe you committed to a new budget, but an unexpected expense threw everything off track. Perhaps you resolved to be more patient, more present, more faithful—and yet here you are, feeling like you’ve already failed.

Here’s what I want you to know: your plan falling apart doesn’t mean you’ve failed.

We live in a culture that worships certainty. We make our lists, set our goals, break them down into actionable steps. We study the forecast, check the radar, plan accordingly. And there’s wisdom in that. The book of Proverbs reminds us that “the plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance.”  I do still believe that planning matters, preparation matters. But somewhere between our desire for control and the reality of life, we forget that we’re not the ones writing the whole story.

The truth is, life is unpredictable. People disappoint us. Bodies break down. Opportunities vanish. Doors we thought were wide open slam shut in our faces. And sometimes, despite doing everything “right,” we still find ourselves caught in the rain.

But what if that’s not the tragedy we think it is?

When your resolution crumbles in week two, it doesn’t negate the intention behind it. When your carefully mapped plan takes a detour, it doesn’t mean you’ve wasted all your efforts. Sometimes the rain that disrupts our plans is exactly what waters the soil for something new to grow. Maybe it is something we never could have planted ourselves.

I think about the disciples, who had their own ideas about how things should go. They followed Jesus expecting a kingdom, a revolution, a plan that made sense to them. Instead, they got a cross. They got confusion. They got three days of wondering if they’d wasted everything on a dream that had literally died. They didn’t understand that what looked like failure was actually the most important pivot in human history.

That’s the gentle paradox of faith: we’re called to plan, to work, to steward what we’ve been given and simultaneously to hold those plans with open hands. To trust that when things don’t go according to our design, it might be because there’s a better design we can’t see yet. For me that is FAITH.

Friends, this note isn’t an excuse for laziness or a dismissal of personal responsibility. You should still make your plans. You should still set goals, create habits, pursue growth. But maybe this year, alongside our carefully crafted plans, we can also practice the art of resilience. The ability to get caught in the rain and keep walking. Maybe we could even take a page from the old musical and start “Singing in the Rain”.  It is our opportunity to reassess, recalibrate, and keep moving forward even when the path looks different than we expected.

Here’s what resilient people know: setbacks are data, not verdicts. When your plan doesn’t work, it’s information. Maybe the goal needs adjusting. Maybe the timeline was unrealistic. Maybe you need support you didn’t account for. Or maybe (and this is the hardest one to accept), maybe this particular door is closed because you’re meant to walk through a different one.

The weatherman getting caught in the rain isn’t a failure of expertise. It’s a reminder that prediction isn’t the same as control. We can study the patterns, make educated guesses, prepare the best we know how, AND still get surprised. And that’s okay. That’s just part of being human.

So if your resolutions are already looking shaky, take a breath. You’re not behind. You’re not broken. You’re not doing it wrong. You’re just learning what every weatherman learns eventually: sometimes you do everything right and still get wet.

The question isn’t whether you’ll get caught in the rain. The question is: what will you do when you do? Will you stand there defeated, or will you adjust your collar, find your footing, and keep walking? Will you abandon every good intention because one approach didn’t work, or will you have the courage to try again, differently this time.

Grace means we get to start again. Not just on January 1st, but on any Tuesday in February or even on a random day in July. We always have the opportunity to reset and adjust. That’s not failure, I believe that’s wisdom. That’s growth. That’s the journey. 

Even the weatherman gets caught in the rain. But he doesn’t stop forecasting tomorrow.  Happy New Year, friends!  Praying you stay strong for the journey, even when a little rain comes your way.