Article February 2, 1998 Issue

Breaking through the storm clouds of disagreement

Like flying, prayer lifts thought to the light.

By Suzanne M. Nightingale

One very Gray December day I felt challenged on many fronts. Disagreements at home and among people in the community were getting me down. Looking for a change in perspective, I went to the local airport, got my flying club's airplane out of the hangar, and taxied it to the grass runway. As I took off and the airplane climbed slowly away from the earth, I looked down on frozen farms and woods blanketed in snow. Circling and climbing toward the low overcast, I watched the farms and homes beneath become miniatures. As they got smaller, so did my concerns. I felt serenity rising along with the airplane, but I was almost up against the dark ceiling of clouds.

Flying toward a bright spot, I saw shafts of sunlight coming through the clouds, making ice crystals in the air glitter like diamonds. Here was the promise of a beauty I couldn't fully see—an opening in the clouds. Circling and climbing through the hole, I was suddenly in brilliant, full sunlight, surrounded by a carpet of white, billowy cloud-tops. Above and all around was uninterrupted blue sky. The sun had been shining on my day all along. I just hadn't seen it. Those glittering diamonds led me to find and see the sunshine. My whole outlook changed as well. I could go back and face all the challenges with peace and assurance.

That experience symbolized for me how prayer lifts us to see God's absolute harmony, which is always going on despite the appearance of tumult. This vision of reality, in turn, shows how evil really has no power. It brings the power of God to bear upon unresolved differences, healing hurt and discouragement.

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