Clouds are like people.

I have taught at school in years gone by a unit on clouds and weather. Being of farming stock I am pretty good at reading the clouds. My wife always asks me if it is safe to hang out the washing and I am able to tell her if the clouds will wet her washing or not. But clouds also remind me of people. Take the big, fluffy cumulus clouds for instance. They may be small puffs of cotton travelling quickly on a summer breeze. Then they begin to pile up from the hot updrafts, and they can attain tremendous size in no time at all. If the up drafting continues next will come flashing lightening and the roaring thunder, the cascading rain, and the world turns black in the fury of the monster sky. But shortly it is all over, the sun comes out, and peace floods the land once again. Now isn’t that like some people?

Then there are the stratus clouds. They are the ones that at times settle over the sea and land and produce a fog so thick that ships are in danger and freeway traffic is slowed to a snail’s pace. We don’t care for these clouds at times like that. But did you know it is this kind of cloud that makes some of the most beautiful sunsets? Perhaps you have known people who seem, like stratus clouds, to make everything gloomy. But when the light from the sun of righteousness strikes them, they may show beauty of character that reminds us of a lovely sunset.

Another type of cloud is the nimbus. Nimbus is the kind of cloud that brings a blanket of dreary rain that goes on and on and never lets up, it seems. It spoils our plans for fun. Just when we had a good thing all fixed up, Nimbus throws a wet blanket on it, and our plans are all washed up.

Some people are nimbus people. They throw cold water on everything you plan. But we need rain, and we sometimes need nimbus people. But we must not let them always wash out our plans; they might be inclined to ruin some good ones.

At great hights the whispy cirrus clouds are like mature Christians who ride high above contention. These people spread beauty across life’s sky and never get in the way. Cirrus clouds indicate to us what is coming and are good for telling us the future. They warn of coming rain and stormy weather. They are always in the clear above – heralds of the coming disturbance.