J
Joshuas Journal
Guest
The old man woke up to the sound of the morning paper as it slapped down onto the concrete driveway outside. He always had been a light sleeper. He laid still a moment longer, giving his eyes a chance to wake up too. He looked at the clock on the wall; 6:47am. He yawned and lay there another moment. He could hear the popping sound of frying bacon downstairs over the soft hum of his wife bustling about in the kitchen. Time to get up.
He pulled the covers back and stood up, pulled on his thick fuzzy warm robe, pulled his slippers on, and headed downstairs. "Ahh...." he groaned halfway down the stairs. He had left his glasses laying beside the alarm clock. No way would he be able to read the paper without those. He trudged back up and retrieved the glasses and continued his ritual morning journey that would carry him next to the paper.
He walked out the front door. The morning was crisp, but not so chilly as to be uncomfortable; just cool enough to be refreshing. He reached down and retrieved the paper and headed back inside. "hmmmm...." he said thoughtfully. It might not be too cold for him, but his wife would most certainly be shivering before long. He decided he better build a fire before reading the paper. So he bent down before the fireplace in the den, and using a rolled up corner of the newspaper, he soon had the fireplace crackling and glowing.
He scooped up his newspaper. On the way out the back door as he passed by the kitchen, he leaned in and gave his wife a good-morning kiss. "Good morning honey" he said with a little smile. She just rolled her eyes and replied in the playfully scornful way that only old married couples can get right; "Get down there and read your paper before your bacon and eggs get cold old man", and she handed him a cup of hot coffee. He smiled again and headed out the door.
He followed the path down the hill at the back of the house to the small wooden gazebo that sat on another smaller hill just below the house. Trees surrounded the little meadow where the gazebo sat on all sides, except for where the house was. He liked the solitude it gave him.
As he reached the gazebo, he noticed that the sky was covered in a layer of clouds. The sun should be popping up in a few minutes, if the clouds weren't too thick.
He plopped down in his heavy wooden chair and took a sip of his coffee. He unrolled the paper and scanned the headlines. Trouble on Wall Street, trouble on capitol hill, trouble in the Senate, and trouble overseas. Doesn't look like anything's changed since yesterday's paper, he thought. He took another sip of his coffee, and his attention was drawn again to the spot where the sun usually comes up. No glow yet. "hmmmm...", he muttered. He glanced down at his watch. Should be atleast glowing by now.
He went back to his paper, checking all the latest gossip on changing foreign policy, peace in the middle east, and the upcoming election in Washington. A minute later he was wondering again if the clouds were just too thick for the sun this morning. The sun should have popped over the horizon ten minutes ago. Then he started to muse.
Why would God let the morning start off with these yucky blah clouds, rather than a beautiful sunrise??? Why wouldn't the sun just be allowed to pop over the horizon like normal, so everyone would be a little more happier? Didn't God want the best for his children? And wasn't the sun a happier thought than grey clouds? And isn't happier better than not happy? Isn't happy the best? So why, if God wants the best for us, didn't he start us OFF this morning with the best? "hmmm...", he muttered once again.
It bothered him more than most things usually did. He was good at just going with the flow mostly, and not worrying about petty things. But this bothered him. Maybe it was because it shook up his understanding of how God thinks. Or maybe it was because he was just used to waking up in the same way every morning with the sun telling him it was time to put down his paper and go eat the breakfast his wife had been cooking. Whatever it was, it bothered him; alot.
He was frustrated now. He dropped the paper on the wicker table and trudged up the trail to the house. He even forgot his coffee, but didn't feel like turning around to go get it. He just trudged up the trail, frustrated at God or the sun; he wasn't sure which.
He went in and had breakfast with his wife, and sat down in front of the fire in the den afterwards to just relax and enjoy the morning. He watched out the window for awhile, still bothered by the fact that God didn't start the morning off with the sun, instead of the less than pretty clouds. He sat there watching the clouds until his wife got up and went into the kitchen. He heard her turn the radio on softly and begin cleaning up the kitchen, singing softly along with the radio as she worked. He fell asleep looking at the frustrating clouds, and listening to his wife sing in the kitchen.
He woke up suddenly, as if jostled by a dream. His wife wasn't in the kitchen anymore. He could hear her upstairs in their bedroom, and the hum of the vacuum cleaner. "The woman never stops", he thought outloud with a grin and a chuckle.
But then his attention was caught by what had woke him up. Out the window, rain poured from the sky. It was a drenching rain, and he watched as a pattern of drops fell to the ivy leaves just outside the window, and dripped rhythmically on the window pane. He stood up and walked to the window. The rain was coming down in torrents. It was a cleansing rain.
He watched the rain for about 5 minutes, until it hit him. The rain. God started off the morning with clouds instead of the sun because he wanted it to rain today! God was washing the world clean! God was watering his garden! The thought of God in a pair of overalls watering his garden made him chuckle. He remembered reading in the paper that morning that they needed rain pretty bad. "hmmm....", he muttered with a grin.
The rain lasted about 15 minutes more before relenting it's tumultuous pouring to a more gentle mist. He took the opportunity to glide down the trail to his covered gazebo to sit outside and enjoy the refreshing rain without getting wet. He loved the rain; always had. He could remember as a child playing in the rain while his mother had stood on the porch yelling at him about what his muddy feet would do to the carpet. Yep, he loved the rain. Always had.
Then he realized how stupid he had been to question God. God knew what He was doing, and had never given him a lasting reason to doubt that. Why had he so suddenly forgotten all the blessings God had heaped on him?
Suddenly, the clouds gave way off towards the East and the sun poked through, shining beams of light in all directions. A rainbow shone in the other direction, splayed from one horizon to another. The old man smiled. "hmmm...", he muttered. He looked down, and realized his paper and coffee were still here, and he hadn't finished either. He sipped the coffee carefully, knowing what cold coffee tasted like. But the mug that his wife had chosen that morning to put his coffee in was more insulated than most, and had kept the coffee warm. The many blessings God had heaped on him flooded his thoughts. How great God is!
The old man picked up his morning paper, and began picking back through the news of the morning where he had left off earlier, sipping his coffee now and then, and reminding himself at every sip how blessed he was. The sun shone over his shoulder as he read, lighting his paper. And the rainbow in front of him only looked more beautiful every time he looked up to sip some of his warm morning coffee. His wife hollered down the hill, "Don't you track any mud in this house. I just cleaned! Do you know what that mud will do to this carpet??!"
"Hmmm...", the old man said. Looks like its gonna be a beautiful day again, he thought with a grin. And the sun kept on shining.
In His Light,
~ Joshua
He pulled the covers back and stood up, pulled on his thick fuzzy warm robe, pulled his slippers on, and headed downstairs. "Ahh...." he groaned halfway down the stairs. He had left his glasses laying beside the alarm clock. No way would he be able to read the paper without those. He trudged back up and retrieved the glasses and continued his ritual morning journey that would carry him next to the paper.
He walked out the front door. The morning was crisp, but not so chilly as to be uncomfortable; just cool enough to be refreshing. He reached down and retrieved the paper and headed back inside. "hmmmm...." he said thoughtfully. It might not be too cold for him, but his wife would most certainly be shivering before long. He decided he better build a fire before reading the paper. So he bent down before the fireplace in the den, and using a rolled up corner of the newspaper, he soon had the fireplace crackling and glowing.
He scooped up his newspaper. On the way out the back door as he passed by the kitchen, he leaned in and gave his wife a good-morning kiss. "Good morning honey" he said with a little smile. She just rolled her eyes and replied in the playfully scornful way that only old married couples can get right; "Get down there and read your paper before your bacon and eggs get cold old man", and she handed him a cup of hot coffee. He smiled again and headed out the door.
He followed the path down the hill at the back of the house to the small wooden gazebo that sat on another smaller hill just below the house. Trees surrounded the little meadow where the gazebo sat on all sides, except for where the house was. He liked the solitude it gave him.
As he reached the gazebo, he noticed that the sky was covered in a layer of clouds. The sun should be popping up in a few minutes, if the clouds weren't too thick.
He plopped down in his heavy wooden chair and took a sip of his coffee. He unrolled the paper and scanned the headlines. Trouble on Wall Street, trouble on capitol hill, trouble in the Senate, and trouble overseas. Doesn't look like anything's changed since yesterday's paper, he thought. He took another sip of his coffee, and his attention was drawn again to the spot where the sun usually comes up. No glow yet. "hmmmm...", he muttered. He glanced down at his watch. Should be atleast glowing by now.
He went back to his paper, checking all the latest gossip on changing foreign policy, peace in the middle east, and the upcoming election in Washington. A minute later he was wondering again if the clouds were just too thick for the sun this morning. The sun should have popped over the horizon ten minutes ago. Then he started to muse.
Why would God let the morning start off with these yucky blah clouds, rather than a beautiful sunrise??? Why wouldn't the sun just be allowed to pop over the horizon like normal, so everyone would be a little more happier? Didn't God want the best for his children? And wasn't the sun a happier thought than grey clouds? And isn't happier better than not happy? Isn't happy the best? So why, if God wants the best for us, didn't he start us OFF this morning with the best? "hmmm...", he muttered once again.
It bothered him more than most things usually did. He was good at just going with the flow mostly, and not worrying about petty things. But this bothered him. Maybe it was because it shook up his understanding of how God thinks. Or maybe it was because he was just used to waking up in the same way every morning with the sun telling him it was time to put down his paper and go eat the breakfast his wife had been cooking. Whatever it was, it bothered him; alot.
He was frustrated now. He dropped the paper on the wicker table and trudged up the trail to the house. He even forgot his coffee, but didn't feel like turning around to go get it. He just trudged up the trail, frustrated at God or the sun; he wasn't sure which.
He went in and had breakfast with his wife, and sat down in front of the fire in the den afterwards to just relax and enjoy the morning. He watched out the window for awhile, still bothered by the fact that God didn't start the morning off with the sun, instead of the less than pretty clouds. He sat there watching the clouds until his wife got up and went into the kitchen. He heard her turn the radio on softly and begin cleaning up the kitchen, singing softly along with the radio as she worked. He fell asleep looking at the frustrating clouds, and listening to his wife sing in the kitchen.
He woke up suddenly, as if jostled by a dream. His wife wasn't in the kitchen anymore. He could hear her upstairs in their bedroom, and the hum of the vacuum cleaner. "The woman never stops", he thought outloud with a grin and a chuckle.
But then his attention was caught by what had woke him up. Out the window, rain poured from the sky. It was a drenching rain, and he watched as a pattern of drops fell to the ivy leaves just outside the window, and dripped rhythmically on the window pane. He stood up and walked to the window. The rain was coming down in torrents. It was a cleansing rain.
He watched the rain for about 5 minutes, until it hit him. The rain. God started off the morning with clouds instead of the sun because he wanted it to rain today! God was washing the world clean! God was watering his garden! The thought of God in a pair of overalls watering his garden made him chuckle. He remembered reading in the paper that morning that they needed rain pretty bad. "hmmm....", he muttered with a grin.
The rain lasted about 15 minutes more before relenting it's tumultuous pouring to a more gentle mist. He took the opportunity to glide down the trail to his covered gazebo to sit outside and enjoy the refreshing rain without getting wet. He loved the rain; always had. He could remember as a child playing in the rain while his mother had stood on the porch yelling at him about what his muddy feet would do to the carpet. Yep, he loved the rain. Always had.
Then he realized how stupid he had been to question God. God knew what He was doing, and had never given him a lasting reason to doubt that. Why had he so suddenly forgotten all the blessings God had heaped on him?
Suddenly, the clouds gave way off towards the East and the sun poked through, shining beams of light in all directions. A rainbow shone in the other direction, splayed from one horizon to another. The old man smiled. "hmmm...", he muttered. He looked down, and realized his paper and coffee were still here, and he hadn't finished either. He sipped the coffee carefully, knowing what cold coffee tasted like. But the mug that his wife had chosen that morning to put his coffee in was more insulated than most, and had kept the coffee warm. The many blessings God had heaped on him flooded his thoughts. How great God is!
The old man picked up his morning paper, and began picking back through the news of the morning where he had left off earlier, sipping his coffee now and then, and reminding himself at every sip how blessed he was. The sun shone over his shoulder as he read, lighting his paper. And the rainbow in front of him only looked more beautiful every time he looked up to sip some of his warm morning coffee. His wife hollered down the hill, "Don't you track any mud in this house. I just cleaned! Do you know what that mud will do to this carpet??!"
"Hmmm...", the old man said. Looks like its gonna be a beautiful day again, he thought with a grin. And the sun kept on shining.
In His Light,
~ Joshua
you made a very good point that God has his reasons for everything.
