Object needed: If the sky is visible from area of presentation, use it to illustrate the lesson.

See pictures of clouds
See pictures of clouds to draw

Have you ever stretched out on the ground and looked at clouds? Clouds are very beautiful and sometimes they seem to be in shapes that are familiar to us. Perhaps a cloud may look like a face or a duck or a stack of pancakes. It is fun to give our imaginations freedom to see what we can discover. Looking at clouds seems to relax our bodies and our minds. We may daydream and think about things we could make, stories we could write, pictures we could draw, songs we could sing. This is all good. It helps us be more creative.

Weather forecasters also look at clouds. They study the weather and try to predict whether we will have rain on the day of a picnic or sunshine when we want to go swimming. Being able to predict the weather helps farmers know when to plant and harvest crops. Weather forecasts help us prepare for storms and give us an idea of what road conditions might be when we are planning a trip. All of these things are good things.

There is however, a word of caution. When Jesus was on earth he spoke to large groups of people and cautioned them about spending too much time trying to figure out what might happen in the future rather than being concerned about “this present time” (12:56).

We all need time to daydream, gather new ideas and make plans. If most of our time is spent thinking about the future, we are not involved in the present. We miss opportunities to work at something we love, to help others or to spend time with our family and friends. Jesus’ message seems to be that we should set priorities and decide what is important for the present time. Then, we will be able to balance our time between planning for the future and being productive and effective with our everyday activities.

Scripture quotations from the World English Bible

Copyright 2004, 2011, Richard Niell Donovan