“If you want the rainbow, you have to put up with the rain. ” Dolly Parton
Sometimes it is hard to accept life on life’s terms. There are so many things we don’t have control of. When bad things happen, it can be easy to get caught up in feeling like we are being punished somehow. I try to believe in a God that breeds love and light and all things good in this world. When something happens that is painful or hard to understand, it can be very challenging to trust that God is still with us and that there is likely something bigger at play, something that we may come to understand later as a blessing instead of a punishment.
I personally find that having something that represents God in my life is very helpful. I have a certain number in my head that represents God and the Angels working in my life. When I feel down, doubtful, worried, or upset, I will look at something random and there will be my reminder. It happens so frequently that there is no mistaking that it could be a fluke or a coincidence. In certain circles, these are called “God-shots”.
One of my favorite “God-shots” in my life, was when my son was about 4 years old. I used to tell him that rainbows were God and the Angels blessing us. We saw rainbows almost daily on our way to school, as the weather in Hawaii is often the perfect mix of sun and misty rain. But that day, it was a very sunny day. We were driving along and he was looking everywhere, but he couldn’t find a rainbow. He asked me where the blessings were that day and I was really trying to come up with a way to explain that we were still blessed even without the vision of a rainbow. Suddenly, he yelled, “Mom look!” He was pointing straight above our car. In the middle of a blue sky, with no other clouds anywhere, was one small white puffy cloud with a small rainbow right in the middle of it. I actually couldn’t believe my eyes for a moment, but then I knew, there was God as always…
While life can be incredibly challenging, it can also be miraculously beautiful. For some reason, it seems easier for people to focus on fear and negativity, rather than faith, love, and light. But if everything in life was always good, how would we ever be able to appreciate it? Next time you find yourself in the rainstorm of life’s challenging events, know that the rainbow is not far away. Know that God is ever-present in your life, and you can get through even the darkest depths by holding onto the liferaft of God’s love and light.