Pink in the Clouds

Clouds clustered over me like petals on a flower stem. My Southern brain stated the obvious, "Clouds are gathering. Bet we'll get a little rain today." Thus began my morning observation as I sat down to await the sunrise. After a few sips of coffee and a fresh attempt to watch the horizon, I noticed those clouds remained stationery. No breeze blew them past; rather they hung, suspended and heavy, as if affixed to their position in the sky. They reminded me of moments of trouble we experience. Like the clouds, they may not be ominous billows of tragedy. They may, instead, be a gathering of small inconveniences and problematic situations, heaped one upon the other, then remaining. They are the pressures, worries, and fears, lingering beyond their expected duration, as if permanently affixed over our lives. But just as the sky was more than cloud coverage, so are those moments in our lives.  As my eyes turned eastward, I saw the gray horizon turn silver, then thread with gold and faint shades of pink. The shifting colors announced the sun would soon be rising.  A quick glance at the clouds I'd just studied, proved they were still there. The cluster seemed to drop closer to me, more fully rounded, much less petal-like, though still stacked one-upon-another, like persistent hardship that grows more burdensome with time. That's when I saw the pink. Out-of-place amid the oppressive gray, it was smack in the middle of the dense mass of clouds, a pop of color that gave evidence to the rising sun. Upon closer scrutiny, I could see the soft blush of light was above the cluster., then, like a magician's hand waving over a black cloth, the light shimmered over, through, and between the clouds. Slowly, the heavy knot disbanded. Then, like dandelion petals blown in the wind, the clouds quickly dispersed, and morning sun rays painted the sky with increasing luminescence.  What light. What hope. What a vivid reminder that when situations seem to linger unchanged, there is, in fact, a work in progress. The Sun of Righteousness is arising with healing in His wings. (Malachi 4:2) He is working for us, above what we can see when we are separated from the Truth by our observation of the trouble. Then, in one moment, what has been darkness becomes brilliant light.

Tip/Tidbit: Don't grow discouraged with seemingly unanswered prayer. God is on the move, working above and beyond what you have asked or what you have imagined. Begin to look higher than the trouble until your eyes of faith see the evidence that God is present, active, and victorious. Expect His light to vanquish every cloud and fill your life with glistening glory.

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