Permanent Respite

It's been a week since we've seen the sun in any way other than just for a few minutes. This stretch of clouds, drizzle, and cold reminds me of times in the winter when gloom seems to descend upon the creation and there is absolutely no way out. People get edgy, the day seems shorter, and it seems the whole environment longs for the light of the sun.
There are a few things, though, to remember during times like this. The first is that just a few thousand feet above you, the sun is shining in all its splendor and the sky is as blue and clear as can be. The second is that some day the clouds will part, the sky will be blue, and the sun again will become a fixture in the daytime sky.
The third is that once that happens, we will quickly forget the gloomy days in the past and will again take for granted the provision of the “great light” that rules the day. There may even be days in the future when we will long for clouds again because the earth has become dry and needs the benefits of rain or snow.
You see, we are a very fickle part of the creation. We humans seem to never be satisfied with the way things are and long for something different. Whether it's a new experience in food, city of residence, entertainment, relationships, transportation, or religion, we seem to always be looking for that next new thing; quickly forgetting the lessons of life learned in the past regarding the new and the old.
The wise man said that there is nothing new under the sun. He's right, of course. (The actual verbiage of the wise man is, “All things are wearisome; man is not able to tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear filled with hearing. That which has been is that which will be, and that which has been done is that which will be done. So, there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:8-9) There is always the next curve in the road to navigate, the next hill to climb, the next city to conquer, the next battle to fight. But it becomes wearisome. We begin to long for a time when we no longer will have to worry ourselves about such things.
Good vacations provide us with a temporary respite from that kind of life and living. God's peace can provide us with a permanent respite, even in the here and now.