after the rain

"Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around Him. 

This strikes me as an incredibly poetic description of the likeness of God. Ezekiel 1:28.

[radiance] 1.radiant  brightness or light 2. warm, cheerful brightness

Let's think about this. I'm actually finding it kind of difficult to comprehend this and put what it means into words, but here we go.

The appearance of a rainbow. I don't know about you, but I love rain.

But now let's speak (er, think) more symbolically; when life is raining. When things are hard and it seems as if there's no-one holding up your umbrella and you're getting wet and feeling like you'll be standing alone in the rain forever. 

And then all of a sudden you're protected. Someone is holding the umbrella over your head, keeping you from the rain and the storm and the cold. That Someone is God. 

You know those moments when you look out your window while the sky is grey and it's been raining and then, in the distance, you see that familiar arch of colour. Not bright, kind of dim; but the colours are there. A rainbow will always appear after rain. That's a promise, you know. A promise God made in one of my favourite stories, like, ever -- Noah's Ark. 

"I'm putting my rainbow in the clouds, a sign of the covenant between me and the Earth. 

From now on, when I form a cloud over the Earth and the rainbow appears in the cloud, I'll remember my covenant between me and you and everything living, that never again will floodwaters destroy all life.

 When the rainbow appears in the cloud, I'll see it and remember the eternal covenant between God and everything living, every last living creature on Earth." [Genesis 9:12-16, The Message]

You know, I think God was kind of saying the same thing about us -- when our lives are in a stormy season or a rainy Winter,  He's promising that He'll be there for us; in the same way a rainbow appears after the rain, he appears to hold our hand and stand by our side the entire time. Our entire lives.

Through the good and the bad, the hard times with the sad, the laughing moments and the dances. 

If you ever feel alone... you're not. 

When it seems like no-one understands... they do. 

Jesus is real. 

Philippians 4:6-7,
Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.


dear Jesus, 
i pray that i will remember every moment of my life how much you love me. 
i pray that You'll show me how to love and live like You do. that i won't be afraid and will grow to have a heart like Yours, Daddy. ♥