Found in Fog

For the past week, I’ve had the song “Castle on a Cloud” stuck in my head. Lo and behold, this morning I woke up to a city covered in fog. My “castle” was now literally surrounded by clouds, or at least as close as it gets in my opinion. My favorite days in Indianapolis were the ones when the clouds and the skyscrapers blurred together. Today was no different… except that instead of skyscrapers it’s barns and silos. The fields and buildings became one gray haze. The fence line vanished and the dogs ran out into the clouds.

I know that not everyone is comfortable in the fog. It forces drivers to take their time and pay more attention to their surroundings. Animals can suddenly appear from the white vapor bank. Fences seem to encroach on the winding roads. Everything you thought you knew suddenly seems different. I was the type of kid who would close my eyes and walk around my room, memorizing the layout. Once I got my room down, I would wander down the hallway. Sure, I might have walked straight into the wall outside my room a few times but I think I enjoyed the thrill was wandering around the “known- unknown” so I kept trying.

The more I think about my fascination with fog, the more I think about my faith. For me, faith is believing in that which you cannot see. When I drive in the fog, I may not be able to see my destination but I believe that it is still in the same place it has always been. On my way to

church this morning, I couldn’t see the end of the driveway until I was nearly there. The road was entrenched in white tendrils of fog and each twist was hidden from view. In town, the road ahead of me was a sheet of white and I could barely make out the silhouette of the cars parked up ahead. But I had no fear. The church was either going to be in the exact same place or it wasn’t, and the latter seemed improbable. So, I continued on with the faith that I would make it to my goal.

Maybe the lyricists of “Castle on a Cloud” from Les Misérables Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel were on to something. Cosette is dreaming of a place where she doesn’t have to work, she has toys and friends to play with, it is quiet, she is with “a lady in white” who loves her, and everyone is happy. This is her castle. Her kingdom. Her Heaven. Cosette has faith that she will be safe in this castle.

There is something about fog that I find comforting, much like Cosette was comforted by the idea of her castle on a cloud. Maybe it’s the fact that what was seemingly unreachable has come down to be swiftly grasped. Maybe it’s because everything that used to be clear is now obscured, but not gone forever. Whatever it is, somehow everything seems safe and calm when encased in fog. I feel like the heavens have reached out and enveloped me in soft hug. Somehow I feel more seen when it is harder to see. I am found in the fog. Like the song says, “I know a place where no-one’s lost. I know a place where no-one cries.” This castle on a cloud is for those who are found.

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

(Isaiah 41:10)