This has been a magnificent summer for clouds. Have you noticed? They seem to catch my eye most often when I am driving. Polarized sunglasses on, the contrast is heightened and I can’t help but stare in awe. It will be awesome, as well, if I make it through this summer without back-ending someone!

Looking up, I am not necessarily trying to recognize puppies, elephants, and cranky old men, but appreciating the wonder of dimension, texture, and shades of gray floating effortlessly through our blue summer skies. They feel very Godly in my heart, and I think I have figured out why.

Artists readily render God the Father as an old man with a kind face, and a soft flowing white beard. That may make for a lovely painting and give us a grandfatherly, comfortable feeling of our Creator, but that description is nowhere to be found in the Bible. Rather, many times we hear of God the Father appearing to his people in the form of a cloud. We know that at Jesus’ Baptism and Transfiguration the Father spoke from a cloud. Jesus rose up into the clouds when He returned to the Father at his Ascension and the Israelites followed God’s column of cloud by day as they journeyed through the desert for forty years.

It was an unusual column of clouds that mesmerized me a couple weeks ago. Driving in Brewster, I looked up to see a configuration of several white, puffy vertical columns standing sentinel in the sky. I drove around trying to find a good place to pull over for a clear view; by the time I settled the columns were gone, but the splendor was not. Against the vivid cobalt canvas, God had swiped for me a long trailing horizontal rainbow dancing amid white whiffs and puffs – a view unlike any I have ever seen. Standing alone, I was delighted that ever-changing clouds crown our earthly home, and grateful that God is in their mist watching and dazzling us.

Scripture: Read Genesis 9:12-17. What stands out?  

Call to Action: Don’t overlook the wonder and awe of God our Creator in our summer skies.