Gray clouds and rays of light

Sandy had a routine stent replacement last week, and heads to MD Anderson at the end of the month for the next set of scans. She is finishing out the semester with a few more final exams, ever thankful she has been able to continue teaching.

God promises to bring good out of all things. We reference that verse (Romans 8:28) often, especially when we desire to bring comfort to others who are in difficult circumstances. As with many other verses though, we have a tendency to assume we understand how God will fulfill His promises. God promises to work things out for our good, but He does not specify a time. Nor does He indicate whether or not we will personally see the good that will come from a specific situation.

Sandy has expressed how grateful she is that God has allowed her to see some of the good He is bringing out of this cancer diagnosis. She has heard from countless former students, all of whom have shared how influential she was in their lives. Friends who lost touch have reconnected. Other friends and family have become more intentional about investing in relationships. People who previously had zero interest in any discussions about faith are more open to hearing what sustains Sandy during difficult times. The list goes on and on.

It is so important to remember each of these evidences of God's promise fulfilled. Throughout the Bible, He tells us to remember. Why? Because He knows how easily we forget - how quickly we become unable to see past what is directly in front of us.

Last week as the kids and I were playing outside, the sky suddenly grew significantly darker than usual. I looked up and saw blue skies - no storm clouds were in sight. Turning around and looking up, I saw a medium-sized gray cloud directly in front of the sun. Most of the sun's rays were blocked from reaching our little part of the world. But as I looked closer, I could see rays reaching out from behind that cloud, stretching past the darkness and into the blue sky. If my eyes followed the rays, I would see blue skies. If I focused on the cloud, all I saw was gray. This only lasted a minute; the cloud slowly moved past the sun. Almost as suddenly as the skies grew dark, they again were fully illuminated.

It was such a cool moment, because the parallel was crystal clear. Sometimes in life we have a dark cloud that all but covers the sun. Sometimes, out of the blue, the light suddenly disappears and we are in darkness. But if we choose to look for the rays of light, we will find them. There will be good that comes, and there will always be things that are good - even if they aren't the things for which we hope.

In time, the cloud will pass. The moments in the dark cannot be replaced or recovered, though they can be redeemed. God is working even in the darkness, and He will bring good from it. So let's choose to remember the times He allows us to see His promises fulfilled - write them down and read them periodically. Share them with others. They may be just what you need to get through times of darkness, when all you can see is the dark cloud covering the sun. Remembering what God has done can shore up our faith when doubt creeps in. Gray clouds don't take the place of the sun - the rays are still shining even if we don't see them.