![](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/757\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-ODltxejDcgo\/VbrobdbqIQI\/AAAAAAAAAxM\/Imt6pB7x0d8\/s1600\/Clouds1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\nThere\u2019s something that fascinates me about\u00a0how\u00a0God paints a\u00a0unique picture every day with clouds \u2013 or a lack of clouds. I\u00a0enjoy mountains and lakes and forests, but they don\u2019t\u00a0change much\u00a0in one person\u2019s lifetime. Clouds, though,\u00a0are in a constant\u00a0state of modification, and\u00a0I find myself\u00a0snapping several\u00a0pictures a week\u00a0in an attempt to capture\u00a0our ever changing, Colorado\u00a0skies. These photos\u00a0are often taken from my car, on a short trek, or in a plane. <\/p>\n
I\u2019m genuinely terrified of flying. I easily get claustrophobic, so\u00a0sandwiching myself in with hundreds of other people\u00a0upsets\u00a0my delicate internal balance. In fact,\u00a0the entire ordeal\u00a0reminds me of Corrie ten Boom\u2019s stories of hundreds of fellow prisoners being jammed into train cars like sardines in a tin can.\u00a0Being in close proximity to\u00a0strangers is\u00a0hard enough with<\/em> air flow and bathrooms. I can\u2019t imagine how hard it was without<\/em> air flow and bathrooms\u00a0surrounded by\u00a0deathly ill people who hadn\u2019t showered or brushed their teeth in months, maybe years. So while modern day flights remind me of Corrie\u2019s historical, horrific\u00a0experience, I am also keenly aware of how fortunate I am that the uncomfortable<\/em> experience of flying\u00a0is as comfortable<\/em> as it is, if that makes sense. <\/p>\n What\u00a0rattles me most is take off. There\u2019s something painfully unnatural about climbing thousands of feet within minutes and\u00a0I\u00a0often\u00a0find myself squelching an\u00a0overwhelming desire to stand up and shout, \u201cI was never meant to defy gravity!! Get me off this wicked contraption, you kidnappers, or I will stab you with my eyebrow pluckers!\u201d But alas, the hiney stays put, mostly out of a desire to not make a fool of myself and whoever I\u2019m with.\u00a0Besides. I\u2019ve paid hundreds of dollars to torture myself, and by golly, I\u2019m going to torture myself! <\/p>\n Typically, I cope by busying\u00a0myself. I pretend I\u2019m simply\u00a0in a box the size of two airline seats, just me and my travel buddy, and I mentally block out the other passengers. If I can get a window seat, I do. Because if I can see the clouds, it reminds me that\u00a0the box is temporary \u2013 that there\u2019s still a crazy-gorgeous outside with flat lands and hills and mountains, and in a few hours, I\u2019ll be\u00a0roaming\u00a0them\u00a0once more. I read. I close my eyes and try to sleep. I put the air on full blast until I\u2019m\u00a0so frozen I\u00a0would rather suffocate.<\/p>\n Unless it\u2019s dark outside, I spend\u00a0a lot of\u00a0time looking out the window.\u00a0Peering out\u00a0is a painful reminder that\u00a0I\u2019ve willingly\u00a0allowed a pilot to propel me\u00a0into the atmosphere (and that\u00a0my guts are\u00a0queasy!),\u00a0but it also gets my mind on the Creator. When I see clouds below me rather than above, I wonder \u2026. <\/p>\n How does He make them? Why did He decide to make the clouds look like puffs of\u00a0popcorn today? Why does He allow mankind to escalate to these heights\u00a0of creation and blast\u00a0through said\u00a0puffs of popcorn?<\/em> <\/p>\n Maybe He just\u00a0wants to give us a bird\u2019s eye view. <\/p>\n Our Pastor always talks about a bird\u2019s eye view vs. a bug\u2019s eye view when it comes to theology. They\u2019re vastly different, but both are important. Same with a literal, earthly view. It\u2019s helpful to be in the trees and grass, looking up at the clouds. It\u2019s also helpful to be in the clouds, looking down at the trees and grass. Both show the Creator\u2019s handiwork, but at different angles. Wherever we are,\u00a0there His handiwork\u00a0is. We can\u2019t\u00a0escape it. Creation is mysterious,\u00a0fascinating, and\u00a0beautiful. If we are honest, it always points us to a Creator. It\u2019s one of the ways God reveals Himself to us, and it behooves us\u00a0to straight up acknowledge who\u2019s responsible for\u00a0whatever atmosphere\u00a0we find ourselves. Wherever we are, we are enveloped by the amazing\u00a0work of a big, intelligent God. <\/p>\n That\u2019s what allows me to remain firmly planted in my airplane seat: God\u2019s omnipresence. <\/p>\n Where shall I go from your Spirit? There\u2019s something that fascinates me about\u00a0how\u00a0God paints a\u00a0unique picture every day with clouds \u2013 or a lack of clouds. I\u00a0enjoy mountains and lakes and forests, but they don\u2019t\u00a0change much\u00a0in one person\u2019s lifetime. Clouds, though,\u00a0are in a constant\u00a0state of modification, and\u00a0I find myself\u00a0snapping several\u00a0pictures a week\u00a0in an attempt to capture\u00a0our ever changing, Colorado\u00a0skies. These photos\u00a0are often […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2920,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Or where B<\/a>)\u201d><\/sup>shall I flee from your presence?<\/span><\/span>
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!<\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>D<\/a>)\u201d><\/sup>If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!<\/span><\/span>
If I take the wings of the morning<\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,<\/span><\/span>
\u00a0<\/sup>even there your hand shall E<\/a>)\u201d><\/sup>lead me,<\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>and your right hand shall hold me.<\/span><\/span>
\u00a0<\/sup>If I say,\u201cSurely the darkness shall cover me,<\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>and the light about me be night,\u201d<\/span><\/span>
even the darkness is not dark to you;<\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>the night is bright as the day,<\/span><\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>for darkness is as light with you.<\/span><\/span><\/em>
<\/span><\/span><\/em>
And so \u2026\u00a0<\/span><\/span>
<\/span><\/span>
When I look down and\u00a0see clouds\u00a0like\u00a0puffs of popcorn,\u00a0I think, Lord, you are just as much with me here as\u00a0when\u00a0my feet\u00a0were firmly planted on the ground. On the bright side, if I die up here, you won\u2019t have so far to travel to usher\u00a0me into Heaven. And in some<\/em> sweet way,\u00a0flying high\u00a0makes me feel closer to you.<\/em><\/span><\/span>
<\/em><\/span><\/span>
My tensions ease, <\/span><\/span>
My worries cease,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>
Gone is the fear of heights disease. <\/em><\/span><\/span>
<\/em><\/span><\/span>
Until \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<\/span><\/span>Turbulence!!!<\/span><\/em><\/strong> <\/span><\/span>
<\/span><\/span>
And then\u00a0we\u2019re back to square one.<\/span><\/span>
<\/span><\/span>
Every.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>
<\/span><\/span>
Single.<\/span><\/span>
<\/span><\/span>
Flight.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span>
<\/span><\/span>
The struggle is real, people. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"