To the children in the car they missed seeing the chance for rain. They didn’t know about the fact that some of those clouds were the tops of thunderstorms. To the children in the car they didn’t understand that wind and possible damaging hail could come from those clouds.
Instead of a storm they saw a funny face in the clouds. In place of a thunderstorm they saw little boats with sails. Instead of the wind and hail they saw a monkey with a ball.
In place of a cloud burst they saw puffy white balls of cotton and wish they could walk and climb on the top of those clouds.
We saw two totally different things.
One saw the possible chance of a storm and destruction; the other saw the possible chance for a daydream and a smile. As I listened to them describe what they saw and with excitement describe each little face and ball of puff I got caught up in their excitement and started looking for the monkey and the little boat. I even ask them to show me so I could laugh too but I couldn’t seem to see it. After a few seconds of trying I gave up and listen as on they described every detail, yet I couldn’t see a thing but a possible storm. Why didn’t they worry about the storm? They knew it was Daddy’s job and they left that worry to their father. After a few minutes I ask myself this question, How do the Clouds Look to You?
Yes, it is the adult thing to plan and see the troubled times that are coming. Yes, it’s the grown-up way to watch for the storms. Yes, it is the adult level of maturity that causes us to understand the severity of a problem and plan for its destruction. Yes, we should watch and plan for the winds of life we would be foolish to not plan on storms.
Yet, could it be that God would make our life a whole lot more peaceful if we would just learn to trust our Heavenly Father and understand yes, it may be a storm but My Heavenly Dad is with me and He will watch for the storms. Then we could enjoy all the little sail boats and puffy white cotton. How do the Clouds Look to You?
Children look at life different than adults. Children except pain and struggle and go on enjoying life. Children will look at problems and believe anyone that tells them that the problem can be put down or pushed aside. That is why children believe in Super Heroes and Fairy Tales.
A child will see a coming storm and question if we are going to get wet. If an adult tells them it’s going the other way they go back to playing as if the storm is not there. It is the adult in us that question the coming storm and when told it more-than-likely won’t come this way we say, “Oh but it could.” The report might not be bad, “But oh it could be.” It’s the adult that will go on with, “We might get wet, no, we more than likely will get wet, no, we will get caught in the storm and…” By the time we finish thinking about it we have ourselves believing that we and everyone else believing will get wet in the storm that might be coming our way.
Could it be that this is what Jesus was trying to tell us when He said “…except you become as a little child and trust me and what I’m doing in your life your not going to make it in the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 18:3-4)
How do the Clouds Look to You?
I watched one day as a cloud burst caught my two youngest children, Jessica and Bryan, when they were little tots. They were playing in our barn that is away from the house. After watching it pour down for a bit they quickly decided to make a run for the house. As they made their break for the house the rain really started to fall. About half way to the house there is a little tree and they made a race for it. They stopped and tried to find shelter under the tree but the rain was really falling now and it offered little break from the storm. So again they made a break for the house, this time half way to the house they stopped and just started spinning and enjoying the water. What had started, as a storm in their life was now nothing but a big sprinkler to get wet in. They danced and played in the rain. So as the adult in their life I told them to stop and get in out of the rain. Yes, I know I ruined it all.
Sometimes in this process called life we need to stop and just realize how blessed we are and how far we have come and realize it’s just water, it’s just life. It’s just rain. It’s just what comes with living. We can get so caught up in the process, in trying to make the whole picture come together perfect and make everything work just right that we miss the success of the moment or the blessing of the day. God when creating this world stopped at the end of every day and enjoyed what He had just created and said it was good. The Almighty took time every day of creation to finish that day by enjoy the moment.
Maybe it was for this reason that King David while bringing back the Ark of God, stopped every 6 paces and built an altar so he could thank God for the last six steps of blessings in his life and what God had just done. There were those who no doubt told David we have a long ways to go.
There were probably those who said; “I don’t know what he is all excited about.” There were no doubt people around that said that it was childlike and not very mature. There were those who questioned his worship and all but said it was childish. Yes, there were clouds and things to accomplish and things to get done and lives to live. Yes, there was a kingdom to rule and enemy to defeat. Yes, David had much that needed his attention and life was not working just like he planned. But I can hear him maybe ask, How do the Clouds Look to You?
Are you seeing only the rain and the wind or can you see the little sailboat and the monkey with a ball? How do the clouds look to you?
We will each come to the closing days of our life. We will find our self with really only four things that matters in those closing days.
1. The Almighty God so build a great relationship with Him.
2. Yourself so become someone you like and enjoy being.
3. Your companion so build a love to last a life time.
4. Your memories so take lots of picture with you in them.
How do the Clouds Look to You?
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