A few weeks ago on Sunday morning, Wilshire’s Nova ensemble sang a rousing rendition of the old gospel song “Unclouded Day.” We know from the opening line that it’s about heaven, and I’m glad to know that because I’m not so keen on unclouded days, at least not where I live right now. I’ll gladly take partly cloudy days.
I do love the crisp, often-cloudless, deep blue skies of winter, but here in late July and early August in North Texas, the cloudless skies are a sickly pale yellow produced by the heat dome that sits over our region this time of year. It’s as if the sun has gotten so close to the earth that its corona of heat and radiation has bled over into our atmosphere. It’s ugly to look at, and the intense heat is dangerous to just about every living creature.
My favorite skies are partly cloudy, especially in the spring and fall when the heavens above are full of clouds that bring drama to the firmament and create spectacular sunrises and sunsets. Since the beginning of time, artists of every type have been inspired and challenged to recreate what God paints in the sky with clouds and light. One such work, a print of Georgia O’Keefe’s “Above the Clouds,” hangs on the wall in our den.
But more than just beauty, clouds bring cooling shade when the temperature is high. When we’re bone dry and the drought maps on the news are flaming orange and red, the clouds bring hope of refreshing and renewing rain. Without clouds, there’s no rain to fill the streams that fill the lakes that provide water for drinking, irrigation and even summer fun.
The old hymn, of course, is talking about days without human worries; days without war, health crises, financial stress and more. Yes, I’ll gladly accept days that are “cloudless” by that definition – on earth as it is in heaven. But even when we’re shrouded by clouds of trouble, they often are accompanied by lessons and opportunities for change and improvement. They call us to prayer and bring loved ones closer. And, if we’re paying attention, they help us appreciate the less stormy times all the more.
As I’m writing this, wildfires are ravaging parts of Europe, Canada and the United States from Florida to Washington. A fire on the mesa above my brother’s ranch in Northeast New Mexico was started naturally by lightning coming out of summer storm clouds. While firefighters on the ground are working to contain the damage, folks are praying those same cloud formations that caused the fire will bring rain to dampen the grasses and brush that provide fuel for the fire.
And if God ordains, perhaps the sky will turn partly cloudy, providing shade to those working on the fire lines, and sunshine to renew the grass and flowers of the earth.