Dark Clouds, Silver Linings and Zooms

 Today has been a busy day packed with back-to-back appointments. I had a 10:00 a.m. appointment with my healthcare provider, then an 11:00 with my hairdresser. At 1:00 in the afternoon I have a small group meeting to discuss a short course I recently finished. I will try to squeeze a quick lunch in the middle of the last two. Should not be very difficult, since I will not leave my house for any of these appointments.

Yes. . . you read that right. My first appointment was via a tele-link. Then my sweet little hairdresser showed up at my house to perform miracles on my unruly curls. (What? Doesn't yours?) And at 1:00 I connected to Zoom for my small group discussion. Ahhh. The benefits of life after a pandemic. 

I say that because I do not believe any of this would have happened pre-2020. The idea of a virtual visit with a physician was just that--an idea that was not used by the general public. People wanted to SEE their doctor when they made an appointment to see their doctor. Hairdressers didn't make house calls as a rule that I can recall. Unless it was in their house. (I will clarify that this is a temporary situation, alas. My hairdresser's family are in the process of building and once completed I will drive to her.) And Zoom was made uber popular when everyone stayed home to . . do pretty much everything during the pandemic. 

I want to make it perfectly clear here that during the midst of 2020, I was not seeing the benefits of much of anything. Honestly. I wanted to forget the entire year. Right? In fact, I hold to the position that all of us should be able to shave a year off of our age because that year should not have counted for anything. It was a non-year. But, as I listed above, we garnered some slight benefits from our misery. I love Zoom. I use it often. Online shopping and grocery delivery changed the lives of busy moms everywhere. My daughter has mentioned she wishes ordering groceries to pick up had been available when her children were toddlers. The times she had to drag sick kids out to pick up ginger-ale and crackers while her husband was working late are still burned in her memory.

I am reminded of the adage that there is always a silver lining behind every dark cloud. I suppose that these few things could be part of a silver lining of a world wide pandemic, because Lord knows that was one big, dark cloud. 

I have to admit that I am not the first one to see the silver linings. Often I can only see the cloud as it blocks the sun, threatening rain or bringing a big storm. My initial response would most likely be to seek safety, not look for 'the bright side.' That is definitely something I need to work on in my life. Like the old farmers who sit on the porch watching the rain that cancels the sad little boys' baseball game saying, "We needed this for our dried up fields." The poor little tykes don't even like vegetables, so that is little consolation. 

There is a Biblical principle that applies here. "All things work together for good to them that are the called according to his purpose. . ." We've all heard this verse, often said at times when we were not in a place where we were quite ready to hear it, to be fair. But it holds true, nonetheless. The part that is often glossed over is the 'called according to His purpose.' 

All things, frankly, don't work together for good, and if we are brutally honest, we know that. History reveals that. Evil exists, and often there is little good that comes from its work. But for those who are surrendered to the will and purpose of God, to those who yield to His power and guidance, we can find good. 

There is an exchange in the book of Luke between Jesus and a certain ruler. In chapter 18, Jesus is called 'Good Master.' Jesus says, 'why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.'

So, what is Good? What do all things work together for? If we are the called according for His purpose, if we are yielded to Him, if our lives are surrendered to His will, to glorifying Him and not ourselves, then all things work together for Him. For His purpose, for His Will, for His glorification. 

In our flesh, in our self-centeredness, we want all things, even the dark clouds of life, to have the silver lining of good things to happen for our glory, for our pleasure, for our comfort and happiness. But the Good that may come of these times may be for a far greater purpose than for our own.

My prayer, and hope, is that I can grow to see beyond my own desires, my own wishes, to the Good that God desires for me and my life. More than a Zoom call, more than convenience of house calls, and more than temporary pleasures. When the clouds come, and they will, may God help me to see the glory that they can bring to Him, and not just to myself.