Welcome to another week! I saw something amazing last Sunday while I walked. You might remember we had a heavy downpour in mid-afternoon. About half an hour beforehand, I was taking my daily walk and saw blue-gray sky on the western horizon. I’ve grown to recognize that color sky. Blue-gray sky equals a thunderstorm. I picked up my pace.
When I turned toward home and started heading east, I noticed most of the clouds were cumulous; some were actually white. It’s amazing how much different the sky can look when you simply turn around. I saw a patch of blue and remembered something my Great-Grandma McEntire used to say: “If there’s enough blue in the sky to make a man’s shirt, it’s going to be a nice day.” I noticed a sizeable patch of blue sky surrounded by clouds: Half gray; half white.
As I gazed at the sky. I noticed the clouds had created something remarkable: The blue sky looked exactly like the United States. I grabbed my phone and took a picture.
It struck me as noteworthy that I should notice this cloud formation as an impending thunderstorm nipped my heels. And the half-gray, half-white appearance of the clouds also seemed symbolic.
We’re not likely to forget 2020. I can’t think of a year in which there’s been more division in the United States. I’ve heard people projecting worse events lie ahead this fall.
Weather patterns typically come from the west. I saw a blue-gray horizon, which did result in substantial rain. But the rain cleared in about an hour, and I never heard thunder or saw lightning. It turned out to be what my dad calls, “A good soakin’ rain.” In other words, it’s good for crops.
So what I’d feared—getting caught in a major thunderstorm, didn’t happen. I no more than stepped into my kitchen and saw raindrops falling. God got me home just in time.
Just as God got me home in time, he will take care of all of us if another storm lies ahead. And, just as the thunderstorm amounted to a good soakin’ rain, I choose to believe that no matter how ominous the horizon looks, I know God sits on his throne, and he rules over world events.
And seeing a patch of blue sky in the shape of The United States surrounded by half-dark, half-light clouds demonstrates something else. Yes—division seems the order of the day. But if half of the clouds indicated good weather, then we would do ourselves good to think of the joy life offers during this tumultuous year.
My list of joys includes good health, the most beautiful summer I can remember, and publishing my novel, “Freeing Colt.”
It also includes two crucial blessings. My daughter dislocated her knee during volleyball tryouts on August 13, 2019. It was a season-ending injury that required more than three months of physical therapy.
Four days later my mom was broadsided in Atlantic. She broke 17 bones and two vertebrae. She came home the first week of October, after surgery, extensive physical and occupational therapy, and thousands of prayers were lifted to God on her behalf.
August 2020 is already a blessed month, because I’ve passed these dates and have a perfectly healthy daughter and mom.
While this year has been scary, God’s still in control. Remember your blessings and go forward knowing he’s got our country in his hands.
Have a wonderful week. Blessings!
