The Clouds of Life

Did you ever notice how blue the sky looks after the rain clouds clear? Today was one of those days. Rain all night and most of the morning. But by the afternoon, the sun was shining brightly. The way the branches on the trees were glistening, and the reflection of the trees in the puddles…

I love to look at the clouds in the sky. It doesn’t matter if they are harmless, light fluffy clouds, or the angry storm clouds – I love to watch how they change constantly. And when the evening is graced with layered clouds, you get a breath-taking sunset.

Life is like the clouds. When everything is going great, it is a clear, cloudless sky. Nothing is going to bother you today!  When there are a few minor problems happening, life is akin to cirrus clouds – light and wispy. Nothing to fret about.

Some days are like Altostratus clouds – an endless gray sky often with a fine drizzle. Days like this are more of a nuisance than anything else, but depression is linked to this kind of day. It is during these kinds of days that we sit and mull over what is going wrong in our lives. We can’t see the sunshine.

As problems build, or as we let them get to us, we have reached the Stratus layer. Low gray, ragged clouds that are rapid movers and change shape constantly. These problems are troublesome because we can’t seem to get a handle on just what is happening. Life is changing so fast that we can’t keep up.

When we let these problems build up we enter the Cumulonimbus, or storm cloud stage. These are the problems where we can’t see any solution. It may be a sickness happening to us or to a loved one, it could be loss of employment, loss of a good friend, …something that could be devastating. We wake up the next morning and the fog is heavy around us. We can’t see the road ahead, anything around us, or anyone beside us.

This is when we cry out to God for help. We see no other way out of the problems we are encountering. He is there to help. It may be in the form of a friend that has a strong shoulder to cry on, or a Pastor who can give advice and encouragement. If we would only remember that God is beside us in all types of weather. He is there on the clear, sunny days. He is there on the dreary, gray days. He is there when we can’t seem to get a handle on things. And He is there during the great storms in our lives. He is waiting for us to ask for His advice, His help, His strength to endure. His is the perfect comfort and peace that is ours for the asking. When we trust Him and put Him in control of our lives, we can breathe a sigh of relief because NOTHING escapes His watchful eye. He is fully aware of everything – good and bad – that we are going through. When we give our life to Him, we will still have problems because we live in a fallen world. But, we must remember the words of Christ Jesus – “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart – I have overcome the world!” John 16:33

So turn to God in all types of weather, in thanksgiving and in supplication; in Praise and petition. He is waiting for you to call on Him. There is no better place to be than in His loving arms!

From Grandma, with love.