Today I have been puzzling over how to construct a rainbow out of cellophane. The rainbow’s purpose is to help decorate my church for VBS, and will hopefully be accompanying Noah’s Ark, which is planted firmly on the baptismal in the sanctuary (a prop that was masterminded by both of my parents). The rainbow has the capacity to be up to 8 yards in length, so basically the sky is the limit! I have decided that it doesn’t have to be the best rainbow EVER, but I want it to make an impression. I might feel bad if I heard a kid say, in so many words, “I just don’t get it.” It dawned on me today, however, that real rainbows are subtle by nature. Sometimes it takes an extra person in the car to point one out. We know they often appear after the rain, but we are not always keeping an eye out for one. And it is partly for that reason, that hidden, glorious sight, which causes us to sharply inhale and say such words as “Wow!” and “Cool!” when we come across one. It is also easy to reduce rainbows to mere spectacles. It is easy to forget that they are a promise that God is not going to flood the earth multiple times over. It would be pretty rough if we had a world wide flood every few centuries. It would make the rest of the natural disasters look like measly kittens.
This afternoon I came across a verse of a hymn that I had scrawled into my journal:
O joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain
That man shall tearless be
The verse hit home again today. It was a reminder that we can view God’s promises as mere spectacles, or claim them for what they really are. I just wanted to thank many of you for speaking truth, and pointing out the Lord’s promises to me over the course of the last two weeks. The Lord’s blessing on those who have an eye for spotting rainbows.
2 comments:
You sure manage to find the neatest pics to go with your "essay." thanks for reminding me of the promise behind the rainbow.
Best rainbow(s) I ever saw:
It had been a hard crossing over Wolf Creek Pass in southern Colorado.
As we drove slowly up that treacherous mountain road, our car was rocked by an unrelenting, torrential rain. It got even worse coming down the other side. At times, it felt like we would be washed off the road, roll down the mountainside, and briefly explode into flames at the bottom. (Briefly because, of course, the rain would put us out pretty quick.) I'm not sure I've ever prayed so hard in my life...
And then, as we came down into Pagosa Springs on the far side of the pass, it simply stopped. Bam, no more rain. We were relieved to be out of the storm, and we needed gas, so we stopped just outside Pagosa to get some. As I stood beside the car pumping the gas, I looked back toward the pass and saw two shimmering, perfect rainbows, one right above the other, stretched across the horizon for miles and miles, as shimmering reminders of what had passed and what is to come in The End.
So, if you could try to make your rainbow look like that, it would be great. :-p
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