How I Know that God is Real

I was reminded this morning of the fact that "the sun rises and sets every day without fail." (That's a quote from an India.Are song.) I'm taking a flight to visit my cousin and my brand new baby cousin (woo hooooo!!!!!), and it was a 7am flight when the Bay Area skies were covered with clouds (well, fog), even though the weather had been gorgeous the entire week. I knew in a few hours, the fog would burn away and the sun would reveal another gorgeous day.

As the plane ascended, I peered down below, noting how suddenly small everything appeared. Still, a nice view. We got into the clouds and my view disappeared. The fog was so thick, I couldn't even see the edge of the plane's wing. Then, only seconds later, we came through the clouds to find the most amazing, picturesque beauty I had seen in some time!

The sun was out - rising still - and it was giving off glorious rays of light and color - golden, orange, yellow! WOW! The clouds below looked like a never-ending field of plump, fluffy cotton. It sat like an enormous blanket just laid out to cover the earth. They didn't move at all. Looking at it, I imagined how incredibly soft and comfortable it would be to run and jump into a huge bed of those clouds. Ah...just amazing.

But I guess the part that almost startled me was the fact that the sun was out. Not sure why I was startled - maybe it was more like a Beautiful Surprise. :-) I suppose I had forgotten that the sun rises everyday...we just can't always see it. How profound is that? The sun rises everyday...every single day...but sometimes we are only able to focus on the clouds and the fog, so we completely forget about the beauty above! And it's so important to remember that - the sun, the beauty - because it does something to our Spirits. You know how you tend to feel a little bouncier, maybe even happier, when the sun is out? Well, it's there - everyday! We cannot forget about that!

And so it is with God. Every. Single. Day. He's there . . . Here . . . with so much goodness and beauty - love, provision, grace, mercy, protection, guidance, comfort, peace! Everyday! Yes, sometimes the circumstances of life can have a tendency to bring in the clouds and, for a time, we almost forget to set our sights back on that goodness and beauty that resides above...beyond. But it's there . . . He's there. Here. Every. Single. Day. Without fail.

So our prayer in the morning - each morning - must be about praising Him for being there and being consistent with us, even when we're not consistent with Him. It should be about asking for His help to realize the beauty and the promise of each and every sunny day He gives us - even if there are a few clouds in the way. And then we can take that light and that warmth and share it with the people around us who may still be stuck focusing on the clouds. That's what we're put here to do - to be the Sun for those who only see clouds.

Thank You, Lord for the opportunity to experience Your light and Your warmth and to share it with those around me. That's how I know that God is real - every single day.