I’ll Take a Cloud…or Two

This day a year ago I was all caught up in gratitude for the rain, cooler temperatures and the Fall season that was in the air. I spent the day getting my Fall décor out and turning my home into a place of pumpkin spice aromas and colors of oranges, yellows and browns. But, not this year. It seems Summer doesn’t want to give way just yet! So, as in the title of this blog – I’ll take a cloud or two that gets this Fall party started.

But, actually, I’m not moving in that direction with this post. I’m thinking of the “cloud” that went ahead of the Israelite wilderness wanderers. “By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way …” (Exodus 13:21). I’m big on putting my faith and trust in the Unseen God. But, there are just some days when a cloud or two would be awesome in pointing the way for me. Perhaps you’re like me and you could sure use some reinforcement on some difficult decisions you and your family are making. I spend a lot of time searching for supportive Scriptures and always hope to glean a definitive, holy answer to my questions. I stay alert for any trace of God speaking. I want to hear His voice loud and clear. I look for patterns in things I read or heard. And, continually, I seek precise affirmation in the choices I am leaning toward.

It’s easy during those times of waiting, seeking, and knocking for our thoughts to run rampant. “What if I make a wrong decision? What if I thought I heard God’s voice, but instead it was just my own emotions or feelings controlling my thoughts? Is it too much to ask for a blinking neon arrow dropped down from Heaven to point the way?”

Instead of allowing frustration and angst to overwhelm us, maybe it’s time to chill – relax and stop trying to figure everything out. Maybe the better thing is to stop looking and listening for a blaring answer from God – and to simply ease into a place of “coming into His presence with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise” (Psalm 95:2) – to simply sit at His feet and indulge ourselves in Him. Praying for wisdom, clarity and guidance about how to move forward. Praying for peace and hope to fill our hearts and minds — leaving no room for confusion and negative thoughts. Praying that decision-making would be an extension of our faith, not an exhaustion of our efforts.

That "cloud" phenomenon guided the Israelites during the daytime. We could sure use a holy cloud to guide us, Lord! But, instead of a cloud, we have cloudy minds and we worry we’ll make wrong decisions or we can’t even make a decision at all. We also feel lost in the wilderness, If they would have trusted more and complained less, the direct path would have been only an eleven-days journey instead of their 40-years journey. Hearing that makes my thoughts become less cloudy and I rest in knowing God is our guide. If we walk down the right path, God is there with us. If we take a wrong turn, He is still there, redirecting us, guiding us and leading us out of the wilderness. In fact, He may take us down the most difficult journey, with full intention of growing our faith along the way.

We may not have a cloud we can see with our eyes, but we can trust God is always leading the way. God may lead us into the wilderness, and He may even guide us there to camp for a while, but He will never leave us there. Regardless of the decisions we make, we’ll never be on any path alone.

Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”

Try to be a Rainbow in Somebody's Cloud

I never followed Maya Angelou’s life or writings much, but hearing of her passing from this life, I was drawn to know more about what made her so endearing. In stature, she was six feet tall, but the imprint she left because of her remarkable life is beyond measure. She was raped by her mother's boyfriend at the age of seven. She testified against the man, who was later beaten to death by a mob. She said, "My 7-1/2-year-old logic deduced that my voice had killed him, so I stopped speaking for almost six years."

She dropped out of school at age 14 to become the city's first African-American female cable car conductor. She later returned to high school, graduated at 17, and gave birth a few weeks later. Maya never went to college, but she learned six languages and received more than 30 honorary doctoral degrees. She taught American studies at Wake Forest University, worked with Martin Luther King to advance civil rights, and published best-selling works of fiction and poetry. In 2010, she was awarded the Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor.

When I saw this quote by her, “Try to be a rainbow in somebody’s cloud”, I felt her tender heart. That quote came from a book, "Letter to My Daughter", she wrote, and dedicated to the daughter she never had. In the book she shared about her tumultuous life that taught her lessons in compassion and fortitude: how she was brought up by her indomitable grandmother in segregated Arkansas, taken in at thirteen by her more worldly and less religious mother, and grew to be an awkward, six-foot-tall teenager whose first experience of loveless sex, paradoxically, left her with her greatest gift, a son.

I wanted to share a little about her here because, once again, we see how miserable someone’s life started…..didn't determine where she ended up. But where she started, was the seed for the harvest of blessings later in life. She put the past behind, but used it to fuel her future. She determined to move forward with a tenacious faith and will to make life better for herself and others. And the moral of this post, is to urge you and I to take the mistakes, failures, disappointments and miseries of our past, and use them to propel us to our future, and to help others along the way. In fact – let’s be the rainbows in other people's clouds. That would be a grand starting point in writing OUR memoirs!

Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining

It was the 3rd night of our Southern Caribbean cruise (it was our annual, romantic get-away), when, suddenly, the lights began to flicker and the engines came to a screeching halt. It was a dramatic sight as people ran to their cabins to get their life jackets. Fear consumed most of the passengers. We knew many were thinking "TITANIC!" We later learned the engine had caught on fire. Of course there was legitimate cause for anxiety and discouragement. But, Ron and I were completely calm since we were cruising veterans, and were led by our faith. We became the voice of reason to encourage and settle down passengers, and help the crew bring peace to the situation. The ship was towed to Montego Bay (150 miles away), and several 747 jets took the 1,500+ guests back to our home destinations. Many people were very upset about the inconvenience, and that their cruise had ended so abruptly, but Ron and I kept thinking "something good is going to come out of this". That’s the “thought” option we have always purposed to have when the surprises of life happen. We can join with the crowd that looks for the worst in any given situation, or, we can always believe “every cloud has a silver lining”.

And, indeed it did -- not only did we receive a full refund for that cruise, but we were given an 8-day cruise for free on the ship of our choice. And, when we took the next cruise, our flights were overbooked, so we received over $1,800 in flight dollars.

I’m not saying that every time we encounter a difficult situation, and we take the high road with optimistic thinking, that there will be such benefits at the other end, but I am saying that when “life happens”, it’s truly a waste of time, energy and emotions to stress out about it. This is what I know about God. My concerns are not a burden to Him -- neither are they a surprise to Him. Turning over my cares and worries to Him, is how I show Him that I truly trust Him, and His unwavering and undaunted love for me. And when I bring Him my attitude of praise and thanksgiving – regardless of the circumstance I’m in, He gives me peace to take me to the other side -- whether it's by boat, car, plane or bicycle. And in that case, I sincerely believe EVERY cloud really does have a silver lining.