How Do Clouds Stay in the Sky?

Nathaniel asked me this question today.  Classic childhood question, wasn't it.  Not sure exactly what spawned the idea in his head since it was a clear and cloudless day today.  He was still in his pj's playing in the living room.  Without looking up at me or skipping a beat, he nonchalantly asked, "Dad, how do clouds stay in the sky?"

I've heard of these moments, but I think this is the first I've experienced as a Dad.  I'm sure there will be many good questions in the years ahead, but this one is classic.  Right up there with "where do babies come from?"

I know at this point you want to know how I responded.  I honestly wasn't quite sure, so I said basically there are two answers to that question.  One answer was simply, God keeps them in the sky.  This would have sufficed, but I wanted to take advantage of this "creation" moment.  Basically a moment to describe something really neat about the world God created.  So the other answer I gave was that clouds are basically teeny tiny drops of water that are so small they float in the air.  And when you get a bunch of those drops of water together they form clouds.  Sometimes the water drops get bigger and get real heavy, though, and the cloud begins to fall.  We call that rain.  And sometimes the drops of water are kind of heavy, but don't fall like rain, we call that fog.  I think he got it.  He must have because there was no follow-up question.  Either that or he decided Daddy's answer was way over his head and not to ask questions if he didn't want a science lesson.

It was humbling to hear him ask me that question.  Being a Dad is a big responsibility - kids think you have all the answers, and that you can fix anything.  I only hope and pray that I can shepherd their hearts by being humble enough to admit when I do not have the answer, or cannot fix something.  Admitting that might be hard for my Daddy pride, but will go a long way in the kids' hearts for sure.

"Daddy may not be superman, but that's okay...he's my Dad!"

(above image courtesy of Fir0002/Flagstaffotos)