The sky is the daily bread of the eyes. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Is the sky ever bluer than after a winter storm has scrubbed it with snow?
Have you ever noticed how blue the sky can be after a winter snow storm has scrubbed it clean? Whenever a snowstorm blows in, the clouds can hang low and dark and keep me enclosed in a little gray world during my my daily walk. But then sometimes after the snow clouds blow away and a new day comes along, the air will be crisp and cold and the sky will almost burn with blue. A blue even bluer than the crayon labeled sky blue in a Crayola boxes. A blue so blue it almost takes your breath away. A blue so blue that you know the air you’re breathing in is fresh and clean and bracing.
Scientists can explain the blue. The colors of the sky come from the scattering of sunlight by the gas molecules and dust particles in the atmosphere. Sunlight consists of light waves of different wavelengths. Each wavelength is seen as a different color. The shortest waves appear blue and the longest red. The blue light waves are more readily scattered by tiny particles of matter in the atmosphere while the red light waves aren’t scattered unless they are struck by larger particles. So when the sky is bluest is when there are the fewest large particles in the atmosphere. A snow storm cleanses the air, bringing down the dust and other matter in the air and lets the sky show its truest blue colors. And we can feel the same fresh renewal as we walk through the snow under that very blue sky and feel as though we can see forever.
Life can sometimes send storms our way. Some might be so dark and sorrowful that sometimes it is a struggle to see any sunlight ahead. Other times we let small storms steal the joy from our days. Could it be that those storms can scrub away the small irritations of life and soften the true tragedies while opening our eyes to what is really important in life. Sometimes on the other side of those life storms, the light is brightest, our lives are clearest and we can see forever to God’s purpose for us.
Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. Psalm 102:25 (NKJ)
And He shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises, a morning without clouds, like the tender grass springing out of the earth, by clear shining after rain. 2 Samuel 23:4 (NKJ)
I forgot about my first Sunday Devotionals in November and December, but I’m trying to get back on track in 2020. Hope you enjoy my blue sky thoughts.
Do you like seeing a blue sky after a storm?
Comments 10
I love the blue skies. Here in Utah, it seems there’re more cloudy skies, than blue. It’s very refreshing to have a sunny day with blue skies. Sometimes it fools people, because it looks warm outside. But we still have freezing cold temperatures. I’m thankful for so many things in nature, including blue skies. My favorite vacations are going to the different National Parks!
Author
I’ve been to several of the National Parks out west but would love to go to them again sometime. Would love to go to Alaska too.
As to those blue and sunny skies fooling us, sometimes the sky is the bluest when it is frigid outside.
Wishing you a few sunny days in the weeks ahead, Jolynn.
I pray that we will remember to give thanks for the blue skies in our lives. I think God wants us to give Him gratitude. After all He’s the one that got us through the storm and then topped it off with the blessing of a blue sky.
Author
You’re so right, Birdie. At the same time, if you’ve come through a really hard storm, it’s sometimes hard to move on without the sadness of whatever you may have lost in the storm pulling you down. That’s surely when the love of family and friends and prayers can help you see those blue skies and feel the sunshine again. I have a friend going through some of those hard life storms now and she’s struggling with her loss.
I love to see a blue sky whenever. It brings happiness to see the beauty that our Lord provides after a storm. Below you have the words, “my favorite room is one full windows”. Well that makes me think that God’s world is so full of windows. We just have to look and so many do not. Enjoy your day and keep writing your beautiful words. You have a great gift.
Author
I like that thought, Eileen, that God’s world is full of windows if we only choose to look. I like having windows around my desk while I’m writing although sometimes I don’t really look. And sometimes I looking through an imaginary window into the new world of the story I’m trying to write. But right now I’m seeing six male cardinals and two female cardinals at my bird feeder outside the window. Makes me wonder if maybe the feeder needs a refill.
Thank you for your kind words and for that lovely thought.
I really love a blue sky after a storm, because sometimes it also brings a rainbow. Would we ever appreciate a blue sky fully if we didn’t first endure the storm?
This was a great devotion, Ann! Thanks for sharing.
I hope your first week of January is off to a great start. I’m certainly enjoying these milder than normal temperatures. 🙂
Author
The temperatures this week are sort of crazy, Lavon. They are saying record highs tomorrow (Saturday) into the seventies. On January 11!! But with the warmth, they threaten storms. So we might have blue skies to enjoy after those storms. And of course, you’re right. Without the storms and the rain, we wouldn’t appreciate the sunshine and blue skies. In fact, when we have too much sunshine and blue skies, then we start wishing for the rain. Everything is a balance in nature.
Thanks for this beautiful devotional describing the blue skies of nature and of life. It is so true that storms of life reveal what is really important and that we are inclined to let small daily irritations rob us of JOY IN THE LORD . I pray that in 2020 I will be more aware of blessings , blue skies , and God’s purpose for my life.
Author
That’s a prayer all of us can join in on, Nancy. May we pray for peace and joy in our personal lives and also peace for our nation and world.