Cloud

 The cloud of the LORD..

Exodus 40:38

☁️⛅️⛈

Shinto makes a fuss about trees and rocks. Now I partly get this. Trees and rocks are pretty great, and are worth celebrating. There is an innate beauty in the so called natural world. That's because everything God does, God does well. Now of course Christians make a fuss about 🎄 Christmas trees. The ancient English poem The Dream of the Rood is narrated by a tree that becomes the cross Jesus is crucified on. But there is another medieval book that many have forgotten about. It's called the Cloud of Unknowing. Because in Exodus, God chooses to reveal Himself through fire, and through a Cloud.

Now we tend to take clouds for granted. Joni Mitchell wrote a song about them, but many of us cuss if it is raining on a day we have plans. Science likes to use long words like cumulonimbus to describe different types, and while something is gained by careful observation, we can also lose something magical and mystical if we merely reduce them to just water vapour. Pagans like the Shinto people that tied ropes round rocks see something the scientists too often miss. Creation is AWESOME, and a frequent reminder of God's presence with us in our day to day lives.