These images were photographed and captured by a friend of mine--Danette
Mears Thompson. She and her husband Chuck have an eye for capturing "stories in
the clouds". About two years ago while they were at a family reunion in
Sebring, Florida--a severe thunderstorm rolled in and Danette found herself so
fascinated she started taking pictures of them. She submitted one picture to
USA Today and it was published. As far as Danette is concerned, she sees the
clouds as God's drawing board--God is the creative artist having fun making
pictures in the sky. Of course there are different types of clouds and they all
serve a purpose. According to Danette, she loves the way the sun interacts with
the clouds and forms rays. "To me, those rays are like warmth from heaven."
"God is saying, 'I am here'." When her friend asked her and Chuck for
spirituals gifts to get her through her cancer treatment, they gave her a cloud
with the sun's rays coming out of it. When this friend saw the image she
replied, "how inspiring"! [email protected]
A cloud to the naked eye is a mass of water droplets or frozen ice
crystals suspended in the Earth's atmosphere. The study of clouds is called
nephology--which is a branch of meteorology. The term nephology is rarely used
today. Recently, interest in nephology has surged as many meteorologist believe
there is a relationship between clouds and global warming. According to the
Environmental News Network, a cloud's thickness and brightness,(its ability to
reflect sunlight),influences how the planet heats and cools. Clouds can act as
a natural shield by reflecting sunlight back into space, creating cooler
temperatures. And clouds can also wrap the skies like a blanket, sealing in the
warmth. God is quite the scientist, making sure it all works together for our
good.
In addition to being the scientist, God is the consummate artist. There
are artists' that are only known by their first name, no other name is needed.
God is the original one name artist. The Psalms say it best--God's glory is
on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon. Madame Day holds
classes every morning, and Professor Night lectures each evening. During theses
classes and lectures no words are needed. Their voices are not recorded and
their images are not captured except by the 'cloud stalkers' who look up and see
God's glory. When was the last time you looked up and saw God's glory?
Gazing upward you will see a parade of clouds; always in order--reminding us
that things are just as they should be and even when they are not, God gives us
spiritual gifts to help get us through. We just have to look up at the
macro-skies and see God's artisty; or on days when we don't want to look upward
we can look at our micro-self and praise God because we are wonderfully made and
God's creativity is the masterpiece. Today, I will look to the clouds and
embrace the stories God wants to write in my heart--I hope you will do the same.
This is Tuesday talk, I hope you heard me.
©2011 Theda Okona All Rights Reserved