Blue Skies

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Psalms 19:1

It was a lovely spring day.  As I thought about summer approaching, I stepped outside to uncover some of my young and fragile shrubs.  Taking that first step out of the door, I found the sight of it took my breath away.  The sky.  It was beautiful.  I turned my head to the right, then the left.  I looked straight up.  I was in awe.  I walked around the house.  It was one of those rare days when the sky coloring was perfect and there was not a cloud in the sky.  Blue.  Just a beautiful blue everywhere I looked.  For 360 degrees around me and above me…a beautiful blue.    

Blue can have different connotations. When I was a child blue was my favorite color.  The same shade of blue as the sky on a day like that day I stepped out of my door.  The color blue took me to my happy place as a child.  As I got older and started to experience some of the realities of life, I learned another occasional feeling for blue.  The feeling of sadness, of being down.

But today, for a while, I was revisiting that childhood memory…that elated feeling from looking at that perfectly blue sky.  That sky without a cloud in it.  That sky that just invited me to lose myself in it for a moment and appreciate the beauty and peace it exuded.  That beautiful sky that proudly displayed God’s handiwork.  Thank you, God.  Thank you for a beautiful day.  Thank you for the blue sky and the warm sunshine.  Thank you for all that you created for us to enjoy.  Thank you for reminding me of some of the good that is still in this world.  It allowed a brief escape from the challenges and concerns of this life. 

Song lyrics rushed through my mind.  The very popular song “Blue Skies” was written by Irving Berlin in 1926 and sung and recorded by many artists over the years. It speaks of those blue skies smiling at you as sad days are left behind while enjoying happy times as love blossoms.  The imagery of blue skies smiling at one makes it encouraging, and uplifting.     

Seeing that clear blue sky brought back thoughts of carefree days and happiness.  Days that begged you to drop everything and follow your dreams.  Go to the woods for a hike, visit that waterfall you’ve wanted to see, pack a picnic lunch, get in the car, and head to a destination unknown.   Just because.  Just because it is a beautiful day.  Just because there is not a cloud in the sky.  Just because the sky is a perfect blue. That should be celebrated.  And God’s handiwork should be celebrated.    

When we see clouds in the sky it can bring happy thoughts or sad thoughts.  Mounds of big white fluffy clouds can be nice to see with their cotton-candy like look.  They bring memories of lying on my back as a child and getting dizzy watching the clouds move overhead, all while imagining what earthly thing each puffy white cloud looked like.  Dark gray clouds can make us feel sad as we think of possible impending storms.  Those storms bring rain, thunder, and lightening.  All the things that dampen our plans to enjoy the outdoors. 

Our desire is for blue skies.  Clear, beautiful blue skies.  But God knows that we also need clouds in our sky.  We need the fluffy, white Cumulus clouds of fair weather.  We also need the Cumulonimbus thunderheads of storms in our life.  Not because God doesn’t love us.  Not because he wants to see us hurting.  We need them because that is one way that God teaches us important lessons in this life.  That is one way that he builds our strength and character.  He wants us all to be teachers.  He wants us to share our life lessons with others.  By living the lessons, we learn them.  We can better relate to others after living under some of the stormy clouds of life.  When those perfect blue skies come our way, we grab them and enjoy them. 

Living in today’s world brings many challenges.  Attitude and mindset about those things can affect our entire being.  God tells us to focus on Him.  He tells us to protect our mindset. 

As the dark clouds in life cover our blue skies, it can weigh heavily on us.  It can affect our mindset.  The longer those dark and stormy clouds linger, the bigger the impact.  Negative thoughts and comments start creeping in.  Joy slips away.  For some, even hopelessness and despair can come calling. 

Turn those blue times in your life into blue skies.  Cherish good memories.  Appreciate the beauty God has given us to enjoy on this earth.  Look forward to more good memories and eventually heaven.  We may not have as many blue skies as we would like right now, but we know that the overcast skies and the storms of life will pass.  The skies will eventually clear. 

Set your mind on God’s blue skies smiling at you.  Because He cares for every hurt you have and every sorrow you experience.  Because He loves you.  Because He longs to give you His peace.  His peace, which He generously gives through His word and our time spent with Him in prayer.        

The mind is a powerful thing.  Treat it with care.  We may not understand the peace that God can give us, but we can still use it to guard our mind and protect our heart.  We can do all this while basking under God’s smiling blue skies.  With His help, we can even do it when we are standing under those temporary gray thunderheads.   

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:7