Clouds

Dale loved to take pictures of sunsets. He especially loved the ones over Lake Michigan. When we camped on the great lake, we would always make our way to the beach each night to marvel at God’s glorious display. Have you ever noticed that an exceptional sunset or sunrise usually includes a few clouds? A clear sky just doesn’t radiate the beautiful pinks and oranges the same way. One morning God spoke to me using the beauty and color of dawn.

I was up before the sun to get ready for work. As I poured my morning coffee I glanced out our eastern window into the predawn darkness. The sun had yet to breach the horizon and the sky was clear and dark. But there on the horizon I spotted two small clouds. They were beautiful shades of pink and orange since they were catching the rays of the sun that had not yet come into view. I stood transfixed by the beauty when God whispered to my heart, “those clouds are like your life right now.”

You see clouds usually represent dark and sorrowful circumstances that roll into our lives in unexpected and unwelcome ways. That sure described my life in that moment. Watching Dale, the smartest and most talented man I had ever met, slowly diminish before my eyes was a daily sorrow. But Psalm 34:18 says, “the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” My sorrow propelled me to pursue the Lord like never before. I was desperate….and he was my only hope and strength. There is a beauty and fellowship that God bestows on his children during the darkest nights, if we will press into him. And just like those clouds, we reflect his grace and his beauty, and glory is illuminated in our lives. It was not of my own doing, but simply my proximity to him that revealed his awesome light. Usually when we are in the middle of a trial WE can’t see the beauty it is forming on our lives, but others see it. Both Heaven and Hell see it.

Something will grow from all you are going through. And it will be you ~ tobymac #speaklife