We all love to see a rainbow, don’t we?! I can’t think of a single person who I’ve ever heard look up with dismay and complain about the sight of a rainbow overhead. But, plenty of times, folks complain about the rain. And, too, although perhaps less so, folks complain about “too much” sunshine or the lack of rain.
The thing is, we can’t have rainbows without the rain. And we can’t have rainbows without the sunshine, either.
My son drew a picture for me yesterday, which prompted some reflections for me. As you can see in the photo, he even labeled it as belonging to me haha. He held up his drawing to me and asked, “Hey, mom, can you tell what I drew?”
I responded, “Yes, I can see a rainbow with clouds and sunshine and rain.”
He said, “That’s right! Because your rainbow needed to have the sunshine AND the rain for you to see it.”
We all learn this from a young age, how rainbows require both rain and sunshine. Metaphors abound, and truths are displayed in colorful promises across the skies.
But yesterday I was already in a ponderous and emotional state when my son shared that response with me, and so I snapped a photo because I knew I needed to blog about it.
Two mornings ago, on Sunday, as the pastor and several others shared testimonies of hope, there was a general theme of joy and sorrow co-existing in life. The responsive reading emphasized that we should not hold onto only the joys in this life, dismissing the sorrows and neglecting to see the real need for Jesus around us. Nor should we cling to only the sorrows, refusing to embrace the joys and gifts all around us, as this becomes simply a place to worship our own woundedness.
(The whole thing was beautiful. You can listen here starting at 1:05:30: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgNbN1vUBvk)
I had a feeling of heaviness, and I couldn’t put my finger on it really. It was just a sadness that I couldn’t identify, but I took time to reflect on the things that weigh personally on my heart and the sorrows I have held in the past and still hold in the present.
Later that evening, I found out that a beloved friend had passed away the previous evening. Decades my senior, but whose influence, encouragement and mentorship in my life for years was special, meaningful and formative for me. I was heartbroken, despite being thankful that he was now fully restored and with Jesus.
The following morning, yesterday, is when my son drew this picture and shared those thoughts with me: “Your rainbow needed to have the sunshine AND the rain for you to see it.”
If we only choose to see the sunshine, to bask in the highs of life, and ignore the valleys and sorrows and pain of others and ourselves, we will never know the promise held by the rainbow. It cannot appear to us because we are so intent on the positives, perhaps coping via this specific type of selective blindness, that we can’t even understand the magnitude of the promise, nor perhaps acknowledge our need of it. The healing, restoration and life that will be found after all the storms of this life pass by. We have been promised a forever absent of all of the burdens and pains and heartbreaks of this world. How can we comprehend all that means when we neglect to open our eyes to the everyday suffering all around, and within, us?
But, just as true, we cannot see the rainbow when all we choose to notice is the downpour of rain. The rainbow will not appear until some light breaks through. Enough to remind us that this is not how things were meant to be, nor how they will always be. And the sunshine will always break through. In the midst of loss, there can still be laughter (Proverbs 14:13). In the midst of grief, there can still be gratitude (1 Thess. 5:18). In the midst of pain, there can still be peace (Isaiah 26:3). But we must allow ourselves to be open to those things.
Jesus has ensured that there will always be Light to penetrate even the darkest and hardest of places, situations, hearts and relationships. Not all may be salvaged or restored earthside, but He is our hope, the Light of the world (John 8:12), and He can never be extinguished. He is always present, and ready to gently shine rays of hope and life and comfort to your soul.
We will have joy and sorrow in this world, and almost never will it be purely one or the other. Can you imagine all the Lord witnesses in a given moment of time? New lives coming into the world, people getting the news that their loved one has recovered from an illness, hearts accepting Christ, job offers right in the time of greatest need, addictions and strongholds being broken once and for all, loving gestures made toward others – such happiness. While at the same moment, tragic losses, accidents, suicides and murders, families ripped apart, children starving or hurting, the elderly being neglected or abused – such heartbreak.
The Lord knows that our earthside experience is not, cannot, be only joy or only sorrow. Sin in this world tells us there will be sorrow. But Jesus in this world tells us there will be joy. And He is enough. And His promise is that, right in the middle of that confusing and difficult co-existence of the highs and lows, He will be there with you. God chose that exact place to shine His promise loud and beautiful, high enough for all to see. He must have known that right there is where it is needed most. Right in the full reality of our existence, the combination of sunshine and rain. We need to live fully, acknowledge both, for our eyes to be open enough to see and fully appreciate His promises to us.
The rainbow is the gift. There may not be gold at the end of it, but a rainbow’s message of promise is more of a treasure than any coins could be, anyway.
If you are in the midst of rain and sunshine, live into both. Close your eyes as the rain falls and allow your tears to join as needed. But also feel the warmth of the sunshine moments in the midst of those raindrops, too. And, when you open your eyes, having experienced both the raindrops streaming down as well as the warmth of the rays on your skin, be sure to look for the rainbow. In those exact places, God can speak in special ways to your heart. Make sure you’re looking and listening.
Matthew 28:20b,
HLC
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