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Imagine for a moment that clouds had the ability to remember all the moments of our lives. What stories could they tell about the people we once were, the people we have become, and the years that passed in between? Of course, clouds cannot remember anything—but thinking about that possibility is what inspired today’s message. I invite you to read more.

Yes, I know. I have been sharing quite a bit of music lately. Some of you probably love it, while others may be wondering how long this musical phase is going to last. What I do know is that music sometimes speaks to the soul in a way the written word simply cannot, and perhaps there is room for both.

Until now, nearly every song I have shared began with a Fourth Day Letter. I would first write the message and then write lyrics for a song that might help carry that message into the heart. Today, we are doing things in reverse. This time, the song came first.

Recently, my wife and I were driving from town back toward the mountain where we live. It was one of those gorgeous days when the sky was a deep blue and enormous white clouds seemed to fill the horizon. Suddenly, I was five years old again, transported back to a neighbor’s yard, swinging on their swing set and staring up at the clouds.

I remembered finding faces, dogs, castles, and all sorts of imaginary things floating overhead. Back then, I had no idea what life held in store for me. Nearly all of it was still ahead. As I drove, words began forming in my mind:

Maybe the clouds remember me,
That little child I used to be,
Swinging high and looking up,
With all of life ahead of me.

Those few words eventually became the song The Clouds Remember Me. But after the song was finished, I found myself thinking about what had happened on that drive. Why could looking at a few clouds transport me across nearly seven decades in an instant? And why did that memory touch me so deeply?

Perhaps it was because somewhere along the way, many of us lose touch with the child we once were. When I was five, almost everything was still ahead of me. I could never have imagined the love and laughter, marriage and family, friendships and faith that awaited me. Nor could I have imagined the disappointments, illnesses, heartaches, failures, and losses that would also become part of my story.

Today, the years behind me far outnumber those likely remaining ahead of me. Yet strangely, looking at those clouds did not make me sad. It made me grateful. For a few moments, the years seemed to disappear, and the little boy staring into the sky and the man driving down the road were somehow the same person.

That brought to mind something Jesus said: “Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). Jesus was certainly not asking us to become childish. He was calling us to become childlike, and there is a very important difference.

A child looks at a cloud and sees a castle. An adult looks at the same cloud and wonders whether rain is in the forecast. A child stops to watch a butterfly. An adult walks past because there is somewhere else to be. A child can become completely absorbed in something beautiful, while we adults are often too busy looking at our watches—or our phones—to even notice.

Maybe wonder never really leaves us. Maybe we just hurry by. Those thoughts eventually became my favorite lines in the song:

Maybe wonder never leaves us,
Maybe we just hurry by.
And God still leaves a little childhood
Drifting somewhere in the sky.

Perhaps that is part of what Jesus was trying to teach us. God does not want us to spend our lives looking backward, wishing we could be young again. He wants something much more important. He wants us to recover something we possessed before the worries and wounds of life taught us to guard ourselves so carefully: wonder, trust, dependence, humility, and the willingness to look at something beautiful and simply be amazed.

Creation is filled with invitations to rediscover these things. A sunset. A thunderstorm. Waves rolling onto a beach. Stars filling a dark sky. A grandchild laughing. And yes, perhaps even giant white clouds floating across a brilliant blue sky. They remind us that we live in a world we did not create, surrounded by gifts we did not earn, sustained every moment by a God whose love existed before we ever took our first breath.

The clouds do not remember the five-year-old boy swinging beneath them all those years ago, but God does. He was there when I was five. He has been there through every year since, and He will be there for however many years remain. The same is true for you.

To listen to the song that inspired today’s message, click the image below.

God remembers the child you once were. He knows everything that has happened along the way. He knows the joys you have experienced, the wounds you carry, the mistakes you have made, and the person you have become. And perhaps today He is inviting you to recover a little of what the years have taken away—to slow down, look up, be amazed again, and become like a child.

The next time you see great white clouds drifting across the sky, take a moment and watch them. Maybe you will see a face, a dog, a castle, or something no one else can see. And perhaps, just for a moment, you will discover that the child you once were is still there.

Heavenly Father, the years pass so quickly, and too often we hurry through the wonders You place before us. Restore in us the trust, humility, gratitude, and wonder of a child. Teach us to slow down, look up, and recognize Your presence all around us. And no matter how old we become, help us always remember that we are Your beloved children. Amen.

UPCOMINNG RETREAT OCTOBER 3, 2026

Holy Family Catholic Church      Hannibal, Mo.

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AMDG

AMDG is a Latin abbreviation for “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam,” which means “For the Greater Glory of God.”

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Brian Pusateri

Brian is a Christian author and speaker. Brian, a lifelong Catholic, felt his life was forever changed when God spoke to his heart while attending an eight day silent Christian retreat in November of 2011. Soon after that retreat Brian founded 4th Day Letters and Broken Door Ministries. With the God inspired message of mercy and unconditional love that was placed on his heart during that retreat, Brian has been impacting others all over the country and around the world with his weekly letters, his talks, and his all day Christian retreats. In June of 2014, Brian’s life was again impacted in a very dramatic way when his eyesight suddenly became permanently impaired. The initial diagnosis was Multiple Scleroses (MS) but in December of 2019 the diagnosis was corrected to MOG antibody disease, a rare neurological disease. This health challenge has only served to draw Brian closer to God and bolster the importance of this timely yet ageless message.

Latest posts by Brian Pusateri (see all)

• The Clouds Remember Me - September 28, 2026
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