God clears the air and the mind

Over the past 2 or 3 weeks, our area has had an incredible amount of rain. Rain that could no longer be soaked up by the sodden earth; rain that felt oppressive, bringing heavy humidity, dark mornings, headaches. It felt like it wouldn't end, that we'd skipped Summer and headed into late autumn.

Then last evening the rain came with a tremendous storm. Thunder and the brightest lightning. Emergency signals on TV announced a tornado warning. The rain pelted down, streams and springs overflowed. It was quite an evening.

When it stopped raining enough for us to check things out, Jason had to clear the drainage pipe in the pond, as it had started to overflow, we worried that it would break the bank. But other than our yard flooding, and this morning discovering that the carpet in my office was soaked through from a flood... really everything was okay.

As we walked around checking everything, watching a river run through the driveway and our newer culvert doing its job, Jason called me to see a stunning rainbow. It was probably the brightest rainbow I had ever seen. For the first time, I thought to myself, how did Noah feel when God put up a rainbow after the great flood? I was reminded of God's covenant to never again destroy the earth with a flood {Link}. Later Jason said it had filled him with hope, reminding him that God gives us that after all kinds of storms.

Source: Cindy Ford, taken at Parker dock, PA.

When I came in, I checked out how friends were doing, looking on facebook for photos of damage from the storm. Instead, nothing but photos of rainbows - many had seen the entire rainbow, others had seen a double rainbow. Many commenting on God's love, God's promise and on hope. Usually I think "Pretty rainbow" but how incredible that so many of us had the same feelings of hope, comfort and peace, that God was giving us that message to remind us that He is there throughout the storm, always in control.


Cindy Ford, a staff member at our church who is headed off to Alaska today with the other missions team, is a fantastic photographer and last night she took this stunning picture above, capturing a full double rainbow. What a gift she has!


Today, for the first time in weeks, the air is fresh. Clean. Cleansing. And beautiful. I may be sitting with my feet on a sodden carpet, but the windows and doors are flung open. The oppressive air has been washed away. Hope is refreshed and renewed. God is great.