The Smiling Rainbow

Photo credit: Elizabeth Marino

We stood together on an overlook in the Bedford Reservation last Saturday morning, the clear blue skies and bright sunshine adding a gorgeous backdrop to the scenery. I was holding my 4-year-old granddaughter when she leaned back, looked straight up at the sky, and shouted, “A rainbow!” We all looked up and saw a small patch of color in the distinctive ROYGBV pattern. We all started shouting, “A rainbow! Without rain!” “Look, it’s getting bigger!” “Look! It’s upside down! It looks like a smile!” “Look, there’s another straight one coming off of it!” “Now it’s a double rainbow!” “IT’S NOT RAINING! How is there a rainbow without rain??” My daughters whipped out their phones to take pictures, as did my son-in-law even while he held the baby. Over the next several minutes we watched the rainbow grow bigger and brighter as the picture-taking and exclamations of wonder continued. We then noticed a few hikers approaching the overlook; when we called out to them, “Look! There’s a rainbow!” they just stared at us as if they were trying to figure out the punch line to our joke. Then they looked up and saw this smiling bow for themselves.

Later that day, we saw four woodpeckers flying together and landing on trees near each other in the woods. This also was a treat, as we couldn’t remember ever seeing that many woodpeckers in the same place.

It was difficult to write off these unusual occurrences as mere flukes of nature. Instead, we thanked God for sending us these gifts from heaven, for finding yet another way to let us know that He’s with us, right here and right now.

We never know when our Lord will make His presence known to us, do we? When we hear any reference to our Lord’s coming we assume it’s talking about the end of the world. Maybe sometimes that’s the case, but that’s not the only meaning behind the phrase. In the Lord’s Prayer we pray, ‘Thy kingdom come… on earth as it is in heaven.’ We pray for His kingdom to be brought to earth now, don’t we? And if we ask for it, why wouldn’t it happen? Why wouldn’t He find ways to come to us now? 

And when we encounter Him in these mysterious ways, how do we respond?

He might show Himself to us as a confused teenager. When we patiently listen to her, we bring His kingdom to earth.

He might come to us as an aloof coworker, who could be dealing with a difficult situation we know nothing about. When we’re friendly to him, we bring His kingdom to earth.

And, of course, He just might show Himself to us through His wonders of nature – including a smiling rainbow – to remind us that He’s with us, here and now. 

“Keep watch, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.” – Matthew 24:42

“Lord, help me keep my eyes open for Your presence here with me.”

Thank you for reading my reflection. © 2023 Gina Bedell     Comments are always welcome! 

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Pray for peace around the world. Donate toward a cause that tugs at your heart. Take care of those around you; take care of our planet. Pray for the families around the globe whose lives have been torn apart by war and natural disasters.

 

Look for What Went Right

Photo credit: Pxfuel

This past holiday weekend, our daughter and her two little girls were in town for a few days. At the last minute our son’s plans changed and so he was able to join us Monday.

Elizabeth planned to make the two-hour drive home Monday afternoon while the baby napped. While she was packing the car to leave, my husband noticed one of her tires was almost flat. A closer look showed a screw stuck in the tire. Michael drives the same kind of car that she does, and just a few weeks ago he replaced all four of his dangerously worn-out tires. So they took her bad tire off, put his good one on her car and the bad one on his car and, after lots of hugs and thank-yous, she was on her way with the baby asleep. There was just one tire-service store open on Memorial Day, and it’s a block from our house. Michael drove up there; they pulled out a long screw and plugged the hole at no charge. 

So many things went right that day: Ted noticed the tire before Elizabeth left. Michael’s plans changed so his car was in our driveway when we could use his tire – his new tire. The only place open – Mr. Tire on State Rd. – happened to be a block away, and they could fix the bad one. In a few days we’ll be together to celebrate the baby’s first birthday, and the tires can go back on their original cars. Also, we had planned to be out of town for the holiday weekend; those plans changed Thursday. This whole ordeal would’ve been more difficult had we not been at home.

We could write off that series of events as coincidence or good luck, or we can thank God for all that went right. 

You, too, probably have had experiences that you dismissed as coincidence or good luck. Times when an unexpected turn of events worked out for the better, or difficulties were minimized. You left late and avoided an accident. Or, you were in an accident and the people who stopped could help you. You changed the route of your walk or run and you came across someone who needed a hand – you were the answer to their prayers. Your schedule changed and something good unexpectedly came of it. We’ve seen it on the news, too: Someone with a heart condition had a medical emergency on a plane and a cardiac nurse happened to be on that flight. 

They say the more we look for something, the more we’ll find it. If we look for what went right, we’ll see God’s loving hand at work. We’ll notice Him using circumstances or other people to help us, or using us to help others. Everywhere.

“The Lord your God is with you.” – Zephaniah 3:17

“Lord, may I notice You’re with me, especially when Your loving hand looks like a coincidence.”

Thank you for reading my reflection. © 2023 Gina Bedell     Comments are always welcome! 

Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. Blogspot doesn’t have a ‘subscribe’ feature and so I appreciate your help in sharing my reflections. Thanks!

If you or someone you know would like to receive these writings directly to your inbox, please email me at ginabedell1@gmail.com and I will add you to my ‘BCC’ email list.

p.s.

We continue to pray for an end to the war. If you’d like to help the people of Ukraine through the Cleveland Maidan Association, you may use either PayPal or a credit/debit card here:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/...