Growing up I remember often that the clouds would roll down covering the mountains. They were hidden from view and from a distance a person would never know they were there. However, for sure those mountains were there; they were just obscured by the clouds. There is an old song of the church that describes the mist and then what happens “When the Mists Have Rolled Away.”
“When the mists have rolled in splendor
From the beauty of the hills,
And the sunlight falls in gladness
On the river and the rills,
We recall our Father’s promise
In the rainbow of the spray:
We shall know each other better
When the mists have rolled away.”
–Annie H. Barker
There was one experience I shall never forget. Annie and I were driving from Springfield, MO to her place. At Zanesville, OH we hit some of the worst fog that I’ve ever encountered. What was normally a three hour drive turned into close to nine. I tried and get behind a semi and follow his red lights. If that truck had turned off and into a warehouse I would have gone right in after it.
“Oft we tread the path before us
With a weary, burdened heart;
Oft we toil amid the shadows,
And our fields are far apart:
But the Savior’s ‘Come, ye blessed,’
All our labor will repay,
When we gather in the morning
Where the mists have rolled away.”
The same is often true of life itself. There is often fog and mists along the trail. Heaven seems obscured by the cares of this life; it is like Paul wrote that we look through a glass darkly. One day, yes, one day the way will be completely clear.
“We shall come with joy and gladness,
We shall gather round the throne;
Face to face with those that love us,
We shall know as we are known:
And the song of our redemption
Shall resound thro’ endless day,
When the shadows have departed,
And the mists have rolled away.”
“We shall know as we are known
Nevermore to walk alone,
In the dawning of the morning
Of that bright and happy day,
We shall know each other better,
When the mists have rolled away.”