Saturday, April 28, 2007

The Clouds Above Me

I was staring outside at the clouds today and I realized that at no time in the history of the world had any other person on the planet ever seen that exact formation of clouds. I mean, maybe someone else was looking up with me, but never in the thousands or millions or billions of years of this galaxy’s existence has anyone else before, or will anyone else ever again, have the opportunity to watch the clouds meander through the sky in just this exact formation.

Just think, unless the sky is totally clear or completely overcast, the odds of the clouds being formed in just the way that they are right now, at just that height, are astronomical. I’d say, impossible.

The wisps and curls of the clouds are like the whorls in our fingerprints. Every day God leaves his fingerprints etched in the mists of the sky, and most of us don’t even notice. Billions and billions of people have lived and died without ever really noticing. Without realizing how unique the sky above them was every single moment.

In fact, when I look around the street, I see that no one else is looking up at the sky.

Look up at the sky right now. Take a minute to cherish the gift of his moment’s unique view. In all the span of time, no other human being has ever had the chance to watch the clouds outside your window curl and wander the way they are doing right now.

And no one will have the chance, ever again, once this moment has passed.

6 comments:

SRL said...

Hi,
Note from a complete stranger here! I sat in on one of your sessions at Break Forth 2007. (gripping the scriptures in case you were wondering.) I really appreciated your approach to ministry and so when I got home, I looked you up. Your blog has been a source of encouragement and challenge to me and I wanted to say thanks for following God's leading to write what's on your heart. BTW I've read Story and I love it.
And as a matter of intrest, we have a major wind warning here in my corner of Saskatchewan, Canada so the sky is changing very rapidly, it's a lot of fun to watch!!

Paul said...

I was flying high in the sky and I looked down through my little airplane window. And guess what? I saw YOU staring up to these clouds.

Did you know that nobody else looks like you from above? Yeah, you are a unique human being. (Just like the rest of us, by the way)

Keep on dreaming, my friend. I love your books and like your blog. God bless!

PS And I am still wondering why you are not responding to my earlier comments on your postings - about your book and the excellent Dutch translation we’ve published :-(

Steven James said...

Hey - sorry to take so long in getting back to you. When my schedule is full...traveling, speaking, writing...my blog isn't always on my radar screen. That's awesome about the Dutch translation. Thanks for doing that. Keep jotting notes, I will get to them eventually. Take care.

Paul said...

Okey! Good to hear from you, Steven - and thanks for the reply.

barbara said...

I spent hours and hours and hours watching the clouds with my Mom when I was a little girl. We'd pick out certain clouds and tell each other what we thought they looked like. I'm pretty sure I grew up thinking of the blue sky as God's canvas. I haven't looked much at the clouds as an adult - thanks for the reminder.

Anonymous said...

i watch the clouds everyday-or try to-except when there aren't any :P You show a lot of great insight and you remind me a little of myself with some of your blogs- which i guess is comforting in a sense.
when i go on family trips you can always tell which photos i took because they're mostly of the sky and landscape. i like taking photos of a bit of everything, but my preference is the sky and the little things, like the flowers and the insects.
The stars are another one of those wonders-so much farther away then the clouds, but just as fascinating. :)