Pretty Colours

Last night, I read the story of Noah's ark. Not for the first time, I must add. But something struck me as it hadn't before. I always assumed that the Lord made the rainbow as a symbol of a promise to us - that the miraculous cascade of colour was a reminder to us that He would never again destroy the earth. But I was so wrong! Listen to what this verse says :

"It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud,
and I will remember My covenant...... and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh.

And,

"When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."

So really, the Lord created the rainbow for Him. Whenever things on this earth get so bad, whevever He may again be sorry that He ever made man at all, He looks down and sees the rainbow and remembers the promise He made. And such is our world, that I suspect looking down from Heaven, there is always a rainbow in the sky somewhere. In fact, He probably designed it just that way.

I thought that was kinda cool. Just a bit of a different way of looking at it. I think it's a lovely, and comforting thought.

Cups of Coffee.... and My Mother's Wisdom

Years ago, in the throes of of a terrible, girlish heartbreak, my mom spoke some simple little words that I have never forgotten. As I cried that my life was over, as she held and comforted me, I forgot that she had just lost her mother. I mourned that I would never see him again - when no amount of tears would bring my mother her own comforter back. She told me then that we never know what tomorrow holds - good or bad. That sometimes we lose people, never to have them return again. And so, she said..... enjoy the cups of coffee along the way.

I didn't appreciate it then. I wanted a fairytale. A forever. But I do now. I suppose it takes being at last grown up to realise that truly in the small things are found the greatest joy. A baby's laughter. One long, magical kiss. A moonlit walk in the rain. The summer sun on your face. The smell of suntan lotion. Strawberry icecream. Guitars strumming. A great movie. A better book. Discovering a five-dollar bill in your jacket pocket. Getting dressed up 'to the nines'. An airplane taking off. A long walk. A good talk. A cup of coffee with a friend...