Sunroof To The Sky

James 3:17

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, modest, benevolent, full of mercy and of good fruits, not judgmental, unfeigned.

As the sun has been obscured by clouds and rain for much of the last month, it is making that rare day of sunshine special. Even unusual. Almost a celestial abnormality. My espresso consumption continues to increase, more clouds and rain, more crema. The Seattle solution...

However, this past Thursday was a stellar day. Sunny with skies of blue, and poofy cotton ball clouds. Temps warm but not ugly hot, which happens in Pa. sometimes. 

I got to thinking on the drive home from work--a pleasant trip for the most part on country roads--why anyone who could afford a sunroof for their car would not get one. Inconceivable. Self-punishment? Denial of pleasure?  A modern day bed-of-nails and hair shirt?  

On this Thursday afternoon, a friend on Facebook posted the picture above of her sunroof and her enjoyment thereof. For the record, I had pondered the lack of people having sunroof's before her post, so there was a synchronicity of sorts. I obtained her permission to use the pic, since--guess what--it is rainy again today, so I can't snap my own.  

The second car I ever had was an '83 Dodge Charger, perhaps the worst-built car even coming out of Detroit. And that is saying something. The only redeeming feature it had was a sunroof.  The latch locking it broke like much else with the car...I had to jam a screwdriver through what remained of the latch buttressing it against the inside of the roof, to lock it.    

Since I am a big dude (6'8", 250 pounds) I often feel constrained and confined by a world made for less gargantuan humanity. A sunroof opens up the car visually and even practically, giving me extra headroom--even when it is closed (the glass is thinner than the surrounding roof structure).  

A sunroof reminds me of spiritual freedom. We may be constrained from below and on all four sides. But, if the sky is unobscured and open, all of that trappedness is released upwards. A blue sky enters my soul. Wisdom from above.

In my book, On The Edge: Transitioning Imaginatively to College I develop the idea of wisdom being a higher strata. Information is one level. Knowledge is the next. Then, wisdom, above all.