It Was There The Whole Time

Recently our family was in the car together riding back from the big city on the back roads in our county. It had stormed but the sun was just beginning to peek out. It made for a beautiful scene. White farmhouses stood stark against a purple sky with the sun reflecting on their porches. Farmland stretched out with green fields made all the more green with the rain. Along the way people were going about their normal business.

We slowed through a section of the highway. One lady had stopped on the side of the road to check her mailbox. Her face was drawn tight as she perused the stack of envelopes. The house was a tiny one, the yard littered with children's toys. How many bills do you suppose she received that day? It can be so discouraging to try to keep up financially especially when you are responsible for those little lives. For each step forward it seems you get knocked two steps back.

Across the road I spotted a farmer kneeling along a neatly plowed row, apparently deep in thought. Farmers are getting hit hard with the economy so bad. It isn't hard to find farms for sale or in foreclosure. It's sad to think how many families are being forced to give up land that was owned for generations. Some finally attained the dream of owning a farm only to have it snatched from them. I can only hope I wasn't witnessing that.

I had been deep in thought as we drove. Trials have been plentiful lately and it sometimes gets tempting to ask, "Why, Lord?" or "When, Lord?" About that time FlowerChild exclaimed, "Look!!!" When I glanced over in the direction she pointed there was a glorious sight. Stretched across the open field was a colorful, perfectly formed double rainbow. The bold colors blazed making the sky around it appear almost black. Hope immediately blossomed in my heart as I felt God's embrace. His promise was right there the whole time. Yes, the storms take place in life. But it is only through the rain that the sun can produce the gift of a rainbow. Sometimes even a double rainbow.

It was enough to be reminded of His presence. But my thoughts did not end there. You see, the farmer and the young mother had both been right there, too. They, like me, were lost in the heaviness of life in that moment. But they both had their backs turned to the amazing sight. It was there the whole time but they missed out on it because they never looked up! Were it not for a little child, I, too would have missed it.

If life feels heavy today the rainbow is there. You may be in the midst of a storm. Take heart! God's promises hold true! Always remember that the sun shining warm on your shoulder can not produce a rainbow. It is only when the rain comes that this gift can be formed. But to see the rainbow you must take your eyes and attention off of your burden and look up.