Out Our Way: And the skies are not cloudy all day - Colossians 3:1-4

Out our way, clear skies are pretty common. As a native westerner, I grew up with the song "Home on the Range" and thought the phrase "and the skies are not cloudy all day" to be a bit ridiculous. "Of course the skies are not cloudy all day - they never are!"

Then, God played a trick on me and called me into the ministry. At that time, as a Presbyterian, I was required to attend a Presbyterian seminary. Thus I ended up moving east to New Jersey. It was there I discovered weeks on end when there was nothing but clouds covering the sky. 

I recall before seminary I had to go through a self analysis form in which one question was: "Does rain depress you?" Being from the rural West and cattle country, rain is usually a blessing and so I of course said, "No," thinking it a ridiculous question. That first fall and winter back east when rain was constant and sunshine rare, I changed my answer. But eventually, knowing this drab gloom was temporary - and that I would eventually be "home of the range" again, I found I was able to endure it and get past it. Behind all that greyness was blue sky and the sun was shining even if I momentarily could not see it. It kept me going through the next three years of graduate school and a one-year internship. I graduated, passed my ordination exams, and then went home.

Who among us has not faced trials and dark days that seem to never end? Dark clouds of trials, disappointment, betrayals of trust, etc., turn solid ground into swamps and filthy bogs. We can handle a little rain and if the ground around us gets a tad soggy, well, what of it? But when it is not a "little" rain - and the land never seems to dry out but simply becomes more and more of a poisonous quagmire, what then? Then all that is left is faith and trust. Faith: that despite the gloom and constantly cloud covered sky, clear blue skies still exist and the sun still shines. Trust: that the skies will not remain cloudy all day. The wind will come and push them aside and the sun will light up the earth with both warmth and brilliance. And one more thing: Promise that after the rains and darkness, the flowers will emerge and the garden will bloom where only a bog had been before.

I was OK for the first few days of winter back east when it was dark, cold and grey 24/7 - but after a few weeks, I began to wonder if I would survive. But I had a reproduction of a Remington painting of the old West on my wall and I remembered. "The skies are not cloudy all day." That is the promise God has given us through Jesus Christ. The Bible, like my Remington print, reminds us of this.  

Be blessed and be a blessing!

Brother John

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The Rev. John Bruington is the retired pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Havre. He now lives in Colorado, but continues to write "Out Our Way." He can be reached for comment or dialogue at [email protected].