Tomorrow is the first day of spring and there is a slight chance of rain for tomorrow, as well as for several days next week. We need the rain desperately around here! I know it isn't most people's attitude, but I like storms. Now, I don't mean tornadoes, but just thunderstorms and rainstorms. I especially like it when a storm comes during the day and then the sun comes out. Why? Because God gave us a beautiful gift many, many years ago as a promise that He would never flood the whole Earth again. He gave us the rainbow! We can see the rainbow in the blue sky as the sun shines after a rain storm.
I took this rainbow picture last summer after an afternoon rainstorm, but I have a story to tell you about a rainbow my children and I saw a few years ago. We had gone to Altus, which is about 30 minutes away from our town, on a Sunday afternoon. We were headed back to Tipton and would have just enough time to change clothes before evening worship services began. I saw a rainbow in the sky and pointed it out to the kiddos. They all commented about how bright and beautiful it was! I happened to remember that we had a disposable camera in the car, so we pulled over to take a picture. Every direction I tried to take the picture from had high-line wires and poles in the way, so we pulled down a dirt road. Even though it had rained a little bit, I never thought about the road being muddy because it had been so dry for so long. That was a mistake!
As we started along the dirt road, our minivan began swerving! I tried to keep it straight and eventually did get it stopped. I put the van in reverse and attempted to back up to get back to the highway and out of the mud. Unfortunately, the van began swerving again and the back end slid into the ditch! We were STUCK! Well, a few of my children - no ALL of my children- panicked! I quickly tried to calm them down and asked them what we should do to help the situation. They knew immediately that I meant we should pray. So we prayed to God and asked for His help, His strength, and His care as we worked through this problem.
After the prayer I called my husband. He is always so good when I call in this type of situation. I suppose he has to be because I find myself in situations such as this quite often :). It makes for a good teaching tool for my boys. (Ex. "Boys remember that when your wife some day calls and does something like this, don't get mad, just go help her. Your dad is always calm and never gets upset with me." I'm sure my future daughters-in-law will appreciate this training!!)
My husband arrived shortly and tried to figure out a way to pull us out of the ditch. He tried to hook a rope around the tire, but because of the slick mud, the van was unsteady. We were afraid it would slip and hurt him, so we decided it would take more manpower. We eventually all trekked across the mud and into his pickup and headed for town. We were a little late to worship services after stopping by the house to change our muddy shoes!
After services, one of the men of the congregation (a farmer) offered to go the next morning to pull the van out of the mud. He took his tractor and delivered my van - UNHARMED, but extremely dirty and mud-packed! I was so glad it was not damaged and that he was able to get it out!
Now, back to the rainbow. While waiting on my husband to come to our rescue, I did get out and take a picture of the rainbow. It was still beautiful, despite the trouble it took to get the picture! Of course, now when there is a rainstorm in the day time, my husband always calls to remind me NOT to go down any country roads to get the perfect picture! Which is why in this picture, there is a big high line wire going straight across the middle!
I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Genesis 9:13
Thank you, God, for blue skies and rainbows and for your promise.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.
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