The Day God Moved the Clouds for Me

Hello, tender friends!

I hope everyone stayed safe in the hurricane. It ended up being an unexpected blessing for us, as Anthony got sent home from work. Because he’s been working so many weekends, it was nice to be able to spend some time together. ❤️

So let’s talk about the day that God moved the clouds for me. And when I say “for me,” I’m aware that God works many purposes together at once and that it wasn’t really all about me. But it was a moment that made me feel so loved and seen by God.

Please take this post as a reminder that God answers prayers even when it feels like the world is falling apart.

I was traveling in Costa Rica in July of 2016, the rainy season there. Every day was humid. On the days that the sun blazed, the jungle moisture rose off of the plants and trees in waves of steam.

But the days that the sun didn’t blaze were a relief. I enjoyed the cloud cover of the rainy season… until the day I went to visit Poas volcano.

The sign at the entrance to the park told me the entry fee was $10 and warned me that there were no refunds, regardless of weather. It was misty and I knew I was taking my chances. But when would I ever have the chance to see a volcano again!?

I went straight to the volcano after paying. I couldn’t see anything but mist. I waited two hours for the wind to blow the cloud cover away.

When the wind didn’t blow, disappointment set in hard. I walked around other areas of the park dejected.

I prayed:

Lord, I know that I was taking a chance coming to see the volcano in the rainy season. I shouldn’t be surprised. But I’m just so incredibly disappointed.

I know that I’m acting like a little kid and this isn’t that big of a deal, but I really wanted to see the volcano. I know that I shouldn’t even ask because I’m so blessed to even be here, but can you make it so that I’m able to see the volcano?

The Lord said, “This is nothing for me.”

I got excited. Even though God hadn’t said he was going to move the clouds, I knew that was what he meant.

But I was afraid of being wrong, so I didn’t say anything to anyone else. Instead I broke away from the group, feeling like I had to keep it a secret in case I would look foolish telling everyone that I believed God was going to move the cloud cover and being wrong. (Yes, you are right if you suspect that I have blogged about this exact issue before.)

When I arrived back at the volcano, God started moving the clouds. I stood in awe at the clear view. I looked in at the bowels of the Earth and observed the raw power of nature and the hand of God.

I stood there for a while, and then, and this is perhaps the craziest part, God said, “I’m going to move the clouds back now.” But he said it so gently that I felt like he might have changed his mind if I had asked him for more. But I was so overwhelmed by the gift that asking for more felt ridiculous.

I don’t know why God granted my request to see the volcano. Every time he does something like this, I wonder how it’s possible when I know that children are being abused and people are starving to death and other atrocities are taking place all over the world. His gifts sometimes make me feel guilty of solipsism. But I know that God wouldn’t give me something with the intention of making me feel guilty.

I can’t explain all of this. But I do know that God cares about the most intimate desires of our heart. And sometimes when you least expect it, he gives you that thing that you really want that you think couldn’t possibly matter in the grand scheme of the world.

And if God cared to grant me this particular desire of my heart, He has everything else in the universe under control even when it feels like evil is triumphing. I write all this as much to be a reminder to myself as I do for everyone on here.

Ok, that’s all for today, tender friends! Thank you for stopping by, and thank you for sharing!

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