Reminders of Hope and Promise

I've been fascinated by rainbows my whole life… From Kermit the Frog singing about the Rainbow Connection, which, I might add, I did a stunning rendition of (OK, maybe not so much!) in the Jefferson School Elementary talent show as a duet with Angie Overdorf & Dee Stahly on keyboard, to my love of Mork’s suspenders. My love of color runs deep.

On the way to school this morning I saw a gorgeous rainbow. Close to my house I could see the left side of it, but as I drove it disappeared for a few minutes. Once I was closer to school, I could see the arch and right side of it. Beautiful! It made me smile and gave me an enormous sense of peace.

Oh, I get the science behind it, and though that's not the point, I love that God thought up that when the sun's rays are refracted through raindrops the white light is separated into Roy G. Biv. How God delights me when He places that little gift in the sky!

And I also love that hundreds and hundreds of years later, God still sends us reminders of His covenant with us through that same way He did Noah:
Genesis 9:16 “Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."

This morning as I drove (trying to keep my eyes on the road instead of in the sky) I wondered how many people missed it. I'm sure the people heading east couldn't see it. Older guy getting his Indy Star surely missed it...the line of pine trees by his mailbox blocked his view, but would he have seen it even if they hadn't? When I got to school I wondered how many people had grabbed their bags and their lattes and had not even looked up. How many people hurried on their way without looking? How many people were too engrossed in their own stuff to see the reminder?

Kind of a metaphor for life in a few ways, I guess:
1.) God wants us to be positive about life and to see all of the beauty in it! So stop looking down all the time. Keep your chin up, literally and figuratively and look around...it'll be worth it!
2.) There is plenty of evidence that God is alive and working in this world if we will open our eyes and look for Him. He can only do so much to show us...we have to meet Him half way by looking and accepting what He gives as that evidence, but the evidence is everywhere.
3.) Sometimes life feels hard, like trudging through mud, but God had not forgotten us. The politics of the world are scary, but God is watching and holding us close. Cancer, death, divorce…plenty of heavy things happen to people we know and love, but God is there to pick up the pieces. You are not forgotten.

My prayer for all of us: Dear God, help us see the multiple ways you show us evidence of your existence and your power each and every day. Let that evidence stamp out even the smallest doubts that you are working on our behalf. Amen.

When it feels like your own life is the modern-day version of exactly what happened in Genesis 8, “For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth” and “the waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days” I encourage you to look up. When you feel like your “rain” will never end, know that it will. Just hang on a little longer.

God keeps his promises. Will you believe that He does whether or not you see the reminder?

Question: Do you believe that God keeps His promises? Do you believe that rainbows are still a relevant reminder of God’s covenant?