Northwest Rainbow

Last week I visited my good friend Erin out in the Northwest. It had been awhile, so I was once again hit with the unique reality of the cool summer rain and overcast skies. We headed to Target to get some things for dinner and ran through the heavy downpour with one of her daughters attached to each of us. Dreading the same run back to the car, we were pleasantly surprised by the sunshine streaming through the clouds. As we stepped into the parking lot, everyone was standing in one direction with heads tilted back looking up—almost like a scene from any movie about an alien invasion. But they were looking  at the most beautiful double-rainbow I have ever seen.  It was so crisp against its dark-gray canvas--each layer of color standing out. And you could see exactly where the rainbow began and ended-- in the lake!  (I thought we might just  come home with a pot of gold.)  Erin graciously offered to drive around a bit to get a better view even with a bagged flank steak and wet kids in the car.  

As I am often led to do when struck by something extraordinary  in nature, I started to thank God for his creation. But then I realized that a rainbow is like an “extra-creation”. It wasn’t created within the first six-day streak, right?  It was a bit like an after-thought, a postscript, a way to use up the extra creative juices.   

And then I began thinking about how this extra-creation only came about because it is connected to a great promise.  A promise of patience and mercy and eternity.  And it’s good to be reminded of this, because I often forget how awesome God’s promises are. When they aren’t staring me straight in the face, I can overlook them. But when one jumps off the page, or speaks to my heart, or answers my specific cry – then it becomes the brightest and most beautiful thing in my view. Just like a rainbow. 

There have been many times when God’s promises have been everything to me:   my daily bread;  my mantra; my sanity; my weapon; my home.  

As I stood and took pictures of it, I realized that I would never capture the beauty of the rainbow in my tiny camera. I needed to just take it all in with my eyeballs -- right then and there.  Even telling other people about it--like I’m doing now--didn’t really impress or inspire.  And telling others about the beauty of God’s promises in your own life may never translate either, but that’s ok. Sometimes, you just had to be there!