THE SUN WILL SHINE

by Kevin Rutherford

 

The sun had set and heavy clouds blanketed the sky.  Rain was falling and so were the temperatures.  As the temperatures kept falling the rain began to freeze.  The road became treacherous.  I was driving my son home from basketball practice that night.  The windshield wipers and defroster were on to keep the windows clear, but the precipitation and the darkness still made it difficult to see.  The weather was oppressive visibility began to shrink.  Intense focus and concentration were required in order to arrive home safely.

The traffic light in front of me turned red and I began to slow down.  Two cars in front of me slowed down also and we came to a stop.  I was waiting for the light to change when a loud crashing sound occurred at the same time I felt a sudden and violent thrust.  My son and I were first thrown back as the vehicle hit us from behind.  We were pushed 3 to 4 feet into the vehicle in front of us.  When we impacted that vehicle we were violently thrust forward within the car.  The car in front of me then hit the car first in line the traffic light.  We were left with a four car pile up in foul weather.

We stood outside in the dark with freezing rain continuing to fall.  Each person involved politely exchanging insurance information while waiting for the police.  The officer arrived and handled the situation professionally.  When he was done we got back into our vehicles and went our separate ways.  No vehicle was so badly damaged that it needed to be towed, and no one was injured (other than sore muscles).

Though the accident was cleared up the weather did not immediately change.  I looked forward to relaxing with my family in my brightly lit, warm, and comfortable home.  Beyond that I looked forward to a time when the damp and dark weather would change.  The following day the weather did change.  Golden sunshine and a blue sky greeted me as I left for the church office.  I so much prefer the daylight to the darkness.  I much prefer the clear sky to the clouded sky.

This world can be very dark at times.  It may seem as if the difficulties and problems of the world are slowly surrounding us and creeping in on us.  We may even be handling well the daily difficulties on life’s roadway, but sometimes tragedy strikes.  Sometimes tragedy strikes in a swift and unexpected way.  Then everything is different.  Some things are more difficult.  A genuine set back has occurred.  But we keep going.  We keep going because we look forward to a warm, bright, and comfortable home in heaven (Revelation 21:4).  We press on because we know the golden light of the presence of Almighty God will be ours to enjoy in heaven someday (Philippians 3:12-14; Revelation 22:1-5).  Keep going.  Don’t give up.  The sun will shine.