Even If No One Else Knows--Jehovah Knows

[Timl1980]

(Takes a deep breath and lets out a long sigh)

 

The other day at work I found myself reminiscing while driving...my minds eye flitting between scenes from my past as I listened to beautiful orchestra music by Mathias Fritsche. Between my ruminations and my stray thoughts...I suddenly realized that I had taken a detour from my route and was driving into a small park nestled by a gently flowing stream. Suddenly needing some fresh air, I pulled into the little parking lot and got out, meandering down a well worn path until I came to the edge of the stream. Watching the water flow along, I leaned over and saw several small fish swimming in the shadow of a large submerged tree branch...their little bodies undulating against the current. After a moment I stepped back and sat down by a worn picnic table...my senses taking in all the sights and sounds of early Wisconsin summer.

 

My mind felt submerged just like those fish...swimming against the undercurrent of my life as it sorted through various memories and experiences until it finally settled on one memory...one voice. I couldn't remember the brothers name...I couldn't remember the name of the talk...but this dear brothers voice rippled up through my brain as the memory came to life and I heard him telling me to get out and enjoy nature...to put down my cell phone and refresh myself in Jehovah's creation. His voice echoed through my heart...mixing with the sounds of birds and a lone owl calling out from somewhere close by...crickets singing and the gentle splashing of water tumbling over moss covered rocks.

 

Gratitude swelled within me...I could feel the bright sunshine pressing down against my skin...and suddenly...I decided to do something I haven't done since I was a very small child...I found a nice spot among the freshly cut grass, laid down, stretched out...and looked up into the afternoon sky.

 

Squinting against the sunlight...I gazed up and allowed my eyes to take in the large banks of soft white clouds moving slowly across the sky...following their progress for several minutes as they crept across the sky and finally blocked out the bright sunlight. I have no idea how it happened...but suddenly I heard another car enter the parking lot...its tires crunching over gravel as it came to a stop maybe 25 feet from where I was laying...and instantly I realized that I had fallen asleep! Getting to my feet...I brushed the grass off my shorts, sheepishly made my way back to my work van, nodding to the couple who had exited their car and were no doubt startled to see me pop up out of the grass...and resumed my route.

 

I am relaying all of that...because after I left...I found out something that startled me...and I wanted to share it with all of you. Maybe you knew this...maybe you didn't...but either way...I hope this encourages you...because after I meditated on this fact...I found a way to relate it to Jehovah...and to how our God...feels about each of us.

 

While I was laying there...staring up into the sky...I kept looking at those clouds...I kept thinking...if only I could do that...just float calmly through the rest of this system of things...just allow everything to pass by, unworried, unbothered...just peacefully float along until  Paradise is here...what a wish, huh?

 

Little did I know, my friends...little did I know the truth about those beautiful fluffy clouds. But now I do...and that's what this post is all about.

 

See, I was under the impression that those clouds were airy and light...but little did I know that the average cloud, (I don't remember what kind), can weigh up to a million pounds!!

 

I mean...it made sense once I thought about it...after all, that's where rain comes from....and all that moisture has weight...but when you just look at a cloud...you wouldn't think about that...nor would you automatically think that it's the atmosphere that is holding that cloud up in the sky. 

 

And it's the same, my friends...with us.

 

Daily we interact with each other...on this website...at our meetings, our assemblies and conventions, out in service...and just for recreation and association...and often we just see the outer self...we view the friends as floating past us, serene and peaceful...never knowing the tremendous weight this dear brother or sister is carrying around on their shoulders...held up only by the mercy and pure love of our God. 

 

True...we know the friends are going through a lot...but when they are smiling...when they are laughing...when they are happy...it's easy to forget that sometimes they are smiling through the pain...they are laughing because otherwise they will burst into tears...and they are happy only because Jehovah's holy spirit is at work in them...even though they want to give up...even though their heart may be bursting with secret pains...even if no other human alive knows the burdens they are struggling under...Jehovah knows...please remember that, my dear brothers and sisters...Jehovah knows…and just like those clouds...one day Jehovah will release all the rain you hold inside...and then you will be free.

 

May each of you continue to stand for Jehovah...because he is standing for you...and soon...there will be no more pain...soon...you will not look at each other and wonder what secret pain lies beneath that smile, that hug, that laughter...because true and unending joy will fill the entire earth...and we will finally be free...free to be what Jehovah intended us to be.

 

I cannot wait until I can meet each and every single one of you there...imagine what that will be like...what it will smell like...what it will feel like...and take a moment, even now...just to stop and appreciate where Jehovah wants you to be. And please take Jehovah at his word when he says:

 

"Throw all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7

 

Allow those last 5 words to really sink in...because it literally means..."it matters to him".

 

You matter...to Jehovah...to your brothers and sisters...and to me!

 

Agape to each and every one of you...and I hope this provided even a tiny bit of the encouragement it gave me!

[dljbsp]

Your writing didn’t just paint a scene — it opened a window into your soul, and through it, helped me see my own a little clearer. The way you weaved together natural observation, personal reflection, and spiritual truth was masterful — not just in style, but in depth. The metaphor of the cloud — carrying invisible weight, held up by the atmosphere — was more than poetic. It was powerful. I won’t look at another smiling face (or another cloud) the same way again.

 

Thank you for reminding us that behind every peaceful face may be a soul upheld only by Jehovah’s mercy. And thank you for sharing your own moment of vulnerability so freely. That honesty was the encouragement. You didn’t just give us words — you gave us a moment of rest.