God of Hope

The sky yesterday afternoon made my heartache for the right words. As I looked at the sun breaking through the clouds behind me and illuminating everything in front of me, I wanted to create. To create a poem or capture on canvas what I saw around me. But no words came and no time was given to pull out the easel and brushes.
Behind me the clouds were white and broken. You could see the baby blue sky dancing above. In front of me, on the horizon, heavy clouds made of dark violet hung with the moodiness of a bored woman or the attitude of a vengeful man. The contrast of the sky behind me and what I saw before me became enchanted by what I found in-between.
In the middle of it all, the light from behind pressed upon the pressures ahead and seemed to kindly grace the storm that had passed. Everything in front of me was wet and wind blown. There were branches lying in the road and cluttering groomed lawns. The trees dark from the heaviness of the rain looked as if they had soaked in all of the burdens of the storm. As I drew closer to the trees they remained like silhouettes against the open sky. The light in-between looked like twilight but it was the middle of the day. The “in-between” was magical and then I heard in my heart and mind; “This is what hope looks like. If I was to paint hope a color….this is it!”
Hope is found in the “in-between” with the sun breaking through behind you. Hope illuminates that which is heavy laden, covering it with the light of grace. Hope is found in the storm that has just past, rolling away on the distant horizon, yet still close enough to see.
Hope.

Dear God of hope,
Fill me with all joy and peace as I trust in you, so that I may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)
Color me with hope.
Amen

Our God who is the Great Creator of all things understands and knows my desire to be like Him. To, on some level, create. To paint, write or speak words that bring forth some reflection of His Glory.
As a kid I used to wonder if we would be given special jobs in Heaven. It was at the age of eight that I first asked God if my job (if there were jobs) could be to help paint the skies. It’s a great canvas and often times, I think I see brush strokes! The sky is always changing and new and no matter what the weather………God has found numerous ways to take my breath away.