Recently, I was speaking to a group of interns at our church when I found myself glancing out the window briefly. It was hard not to notice that a dense fog had descended over the Pacific Northwest. 

Being a meteorological nerd, I’m always aware of what is happening with the weather and that day was no exception. As a kid growing up on a farm, following the weather was like a UPS driver putting on his brown uniform — it just came with the territory. Yesterday’s fog was due to a stalled high pressure system that was stagnant over the Seattle area. Not only was the high pressure system stagnant, so was the air. There was literally NO wind. The stagnation ultimately resulted in a burn ban in many areas in order to prevent further ramifications of this stalled weather system.

If you’ve experienced fog like this, particular a winter fog, you know that that the thick layer distracts everyone. It’s difficult to drive and everything is impacted. I can remember as a kid having two hour delays to the start of the school day because it wasn’t safe for the school buses to be on the road. This recent PNW fog was similar. On Day 1, 100% of the flights were canceled, and on the second, 65%. Normal clouds that typically fly several hundred, if not thousands of feet in the sky, descended to ground level and quickly shut everything down.

In contrast, if you’ve ever successfully flown on a day like this, you’ll know that upon takeoff, you quickly find that the sun is shining really bright above the fog. It’s a bit surreal when that happens. One moment you socked in; the next, it’s like nothing ever happened. All it takes is an increase in altitude to experience clear vision.

In that moment while looking out the window, I was struck by the fact that I feel like our country has been stuck in a metaphorical fog for the last 2+ years. We can’t see straight and can’t focus. We’re easily distracted by what’s going on around us. When we normally are looking 10 miles in the distance, today we’re hyper focused on what’s right in front of us. As a result, on our best days we’re agitated; on our worst, we’re flat out angry and nasty.

I wonder what would happen if we were to elevate ourselves above the thickening clouds in order to gain a new perspective? What if we were to stop being distracted by all of the noise of the political systems and started raising the altitude of our perspective? What if we were to take our eyes off the vaccinated or unvaccinated …. the masked or unmasked … the Democrats or Republicans … the right or the left … and elevated our vision?

I think this is what Jesus did when he came to this earth. His arrival was to point us to a different reality … a different Kingdom … a different perspective. While many were wanting to trip him up by asking divisive questions, he continually redirected and elevated the conversation taking on a higher perspective. 

These days, I’m trying to take that point of view. While it’s easy for me to get focused on all of the important issues in front of me and find fault in those with which I don’t agree, I’m making a conscious choice to elevate myself above the fog. Some days I succeed; others, not so much. I am trying to focus on an eternal Kingdom … a Kingdom that supersedes any country, government, belief, or political system. I’m trying to have a Kingdom perspective. I think that perspective can likely clear any remnants of a fog. And I wonder if we might become a little more decent … and kind … and caring. I know many of are looking, hoping, and believing for that.