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“Rows and floes of angel hair, and ice cream castles in the air,
And feather canyons everywhere, I've looked at clouds that way.”
Canadian singer-song writer -Joni Mitchell, circa 1966-67
Are you a nephophile? A what? That just doesn’t sound like a nice word! No, it does not. Try as you may, you will not find this word in any English dictionary because it doesn’t exist. It is derived from combining two Greek words, “nephos”, meaning cloud, and “phile, meaning lover.
Together they mean someone who is fascinated with clouds and cloud formations, such as a meteorologist, weathercaster, artist, or anyone that just enjoys finding a comfortable space to relax and watch the clouds drift by?
You might ask, “Why does Dave have his head in the clouds today?” Well, let me tell you. As several of us were riding back from a rehearsal, we were observing a small, lone cloud. The sun had already set, leaving behind a beautiful blue sky splashed with pinks and oranges.
We were commenting about how it seemed out of place and was very low in the sky. As we continued westward it seemed to follow us, changing shape, stretching back and forth. Everyone had a different description of what they saw in the changing shapes.
Then someone asked, “Do you think clouds get lonely.” I pondered that, thinking to myself that clouds would have to have feelings, emotions to experience loneliness. What if they did? What if they could? What if that were possible outside the limits of our comprehension of this marvelous world we live in?
Even the graphic for this column is a cloud, a word cloud, with a life of its own. Look at the words within it and see if that isn’t true. It reminds me of Joni Mitchell’s song, “Both Sides Now”, which she wrote while looking down on the clouds during a flight. Even though she was really writing about life and love, in verse 3 she says, “I really don’t know clouds at all.”
As you know, I love to do word searches in scripture. The words “Clouds,” or “cloudy” appear 150-200 times in the Bible, depending upon which version you are reading. In both the Old and New Testaments clouds can mark the presence of God. They can point to his power and protection such as when he led the Israelites out of Egypt. Here are just a few more examples:
From the bow in the clouds (Genesis 9)
The cloud covering Sinai (Exodus 19)
The cloud filling Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 8)
“This is my son, whom I am well pleased” - spoken from a bright cloud (Matt 17)
Jesus ascended and was hidden by a cloud (Acts 1)
Jesus will return on the clouds of Heaven (Mat 24, Mark 13, Rev 1)
This week I encourage you to take some time to do some cloud gazing yourself. As you do, I hope that you will gaze beyond the clouds and imagine what is possible that has not yet been revealed to us. Remember, just as clouds are not attached to the sky they dance across, we are not to be attached to this world because we are only passing through.
Have a blessed week,
Dave 7/15/26
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