Storm And Sunshine

The storm makes my heart beat wildly … at God’s command wonderful things happen … And now the light in the sky is dazzling, too bright for us to look at; and the sky has been swept clean by the wind. Job 37: 1,5,21

Glowering clouds that produce sudden squalls remind me of the unpredictable outbursts of human nature. Do not assume, just because life goes smoothly now, that we shall always be immune from sudden outbreaks. If we do assume this, we will not be able to handle the squalls; we will try to run away, or cave in; panic or fear will dominate. But if we accept now that these things are part, though only part, of life’s scenery, we will maintain perspective in the storm.

Clouds teach us that the threats and squalls of life soon pass; they are never permanent. They swirl in and out of clear sky.

The sun breaking out teaches us that the Lord delights to restore the goodness of life and this makes us feel good within. As God dries a wet building, so the damp evaporates from our lives. As the sun warms everything, so we learn to bask in God’s rays. Yet the smoke rising from chimneys teaches us that we have a part to play: ‘Lord, I will do some good for you, I will stoke the fires of the Faith’.

King, you ordained the movements of every object: the sun to cross the sky each day … the clouds to carry rain from the sea, and rivers to carry waters back to the sea.
The Celtic Psalter

Through his creation God encircles and strengthens us
Hildegard of Bingen

Lord, may the swirling storm clouds
remind me that I am a creature, not Creator
that I am am liable to suffer from the changes and chances
of this mortal life.
May the clouds teach me to look always to you
the Creator of both storm and sunshine.
May they teach me to maintain joy when life is frowning
and to maintain perspective in and out of season