I was sitting at my desk this morning and had an ephiphany. It is pouring down rain outside and I am tired of rain. It has really taken a toll on my happy face and happy place. As I was sitting here....thinking about St. Patricks Day .....I began chasing rabbits (my ADD kicked in)....and I began thinking of rainbows and pots of gold....and I watched The Bible on TV last night....and all of a sudden....Genesis 9:13 was running through my mind. When that happens....I have to write. Genesis 9:13 says, "I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
I remember a summer day that began bright and sunny, but muggy and uncomfortable. The weatherman predicted storms, but when one looked outside, it was hard to believe it would happen. But that was the way weather was in South Florida…..glorious one minute and storming the next. By 3 o’clock in the afternoon things had changed drastically. The air was so humid you felt as if you would drown just walking through it. The sky in the West was turning ugly. Huge dark clouds were rolling in and soon the sun was totally obliterated. It was almost as dark as night, but it was late afternoon. Suddenly the clouds burst and huge drops of rain began to fall. Lightening flashed through the heavens and the house seemed to vibrate with each crash of thunder. The rain was so heavy you couldn’t see the house across the road. Rivers of water ran down our driveway into the street causing the storm drains to back up. There was a loud crack and our power went off. Oh well, no more electricity for awhile. We sat in darkness waiting for the storm to pass over. Little by little the rain began to let up, the clouds lightened and the sun came out, it’s rays glistening in the light rain that still fell. “Look! Over the house across the street. Do you see it?” Sure enough, there it was…a rainbow. We went outside, standing in the drizzle to see it better. As we watched the colors became brighter and brighter. It was beautiful. Then just as we thought it couldn’t get any better, a second rainbow appeared over the first gradually darkening in color like the first. I remember a sense of well being flooding over me. Everything was going to be alright now. We had God’s promise and it was good. I am sure each one of you probably has a similar story somewhere in your memories. To this day I look for a rainbow whenever it is raining and the sun is shining. There is a sense of comfort just in seeing it. I get so excited when there it is, that beautiful arch across the sky. It seems to have no beginning, no end. It just is. I know for a fact that if you try to go find the end of the rainbow, no matter how far you travel, you will have to keep going. The end will never appear. The rainbow for me will forever be a sign of hope. We see them everywhere and always in conjunction with a promise. That’s what the rainbow is, a promise, a reminder between God and man forever!
The rainbow in the sky is more than a promise that God will never send a flood again....to me it is the reminder of my baptism through water, my salvation in Jesus Christ, AND mypromise of eternal life. When we go through difficult times, when our faith is tested and we keep our trust in God, that’s when we really see the full effect of his grace, mercy, and love. That’s when we see and experience the riches of living a life founded in him. That’s when we see our rainbow. So what is at the end of the rainbow? When I was a child I always believed that there was a real black pot with gold coins in it…..and that there was always a leprechaun looking for this pot of gold….and you may laugh…..but at the end of the rainbow there really is a pot of gold. Not the black cauldron I imagined as a child…but yes, it exists all the same and is symbolized in the riches we have in Jesus Christ! The only flood you and I will ever see is the flood of God’s grace and the riches of his kingdom bestowed upon us forever! You may never look at a rainbow in quite the same way again! I know I don't. It is raining....right now.....yet, I know that there is a possibility of a rainbow....maybe on my way home? Ya think?
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