Rain and Bows

I think I was five-years-old. I was contently sitting under the big picture window, reading my library of Dr. Seuss books when my dad came in the back door frantically saying my name and "Come quick! You have to see this!"

"But ddaaaaddd! it's raining! I do not want to get wet!" I replied.

I'm not exactly sure what happened next, but I do remember ending up outside, getting wet. I also remember the sun was shining. As we carried me to the perfect spot in our back yard--he pointed and said "Look up there. Do you see it?? It's a rainbow."

There it was...this red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple streak in the sky. It was quite impressive!

I was reading in Genesis 6-9 today about Noah and his first encounter with a rainbow. It was after the flood, after being on an ark for a year and ten days with his immediate family and every living creature that was created. It was after seeing rain for the first time. It was after his life changed forever.

And it was a sign. It was God's symbol that he would keep his covenant to never flood the earth again.

Today we stop what we are doing and race outside (sometimes in the rain) to look at rainbows. We stare for a while and return to whatever it is we were doing.

Maybe we should do that with the covenants of God too. Maybe we should run to remember the covenants God has made in scripture, read/stare/apply them and return to whatever it is we were doing.

Maybe then we'll see the beauty in them as well as in rainbows.

*photo found via google images