Streams of Mercy

My grandson and his family moved to Winston Salem last week, stepping into an unknown future far away from family and friends. I saw three rainbows coming home from helping them move in, and that was a gift of hope to my heart for them.

The first rainbow was off in the distance, spanning as far as the eye could see; the second rainbow was only partly visible, dark clouds hiding the left side; the third rainbow came down right in the roadway and I literally drove through it, the colors spilling through my car. That was special! A rainbow is a symbol of hope and promise, an assurance that God is watching over creation.

Poet Ann Weems writes:

“I keep reaching for rainbows…

thinking that one God’s morning

I will wake up with rainbow ribbons in my hair,

with hurts painted over in hues that only angel wings could brush...

the world created in a myriad of colors: the hungry fed,

the dying held, the maimed walking,

the angry stroked…

and every tear wiped away…

I know the promise of the rainbow.

I keep thinking I’ll turn a corner one day

and find a litany of rainbows

flung across the sky

hosannaing back and forth

through all the ages

and out into eternity forever amen!”

I pray for this young family as they find their way on life’s journey, that their pathway will be marked by rainbows, reminding them of God’s love for them, that they will make good choices and together build a life of beauty and grace.

In another Ann Weem’s poem are words of my heart for them in this season of their lives:

“If I could, I’d write for you a rainbow

And splash it with all the colors of God

And hang it on the window of your being

So that each new God’s morning

Your eyes would open first

to Hope and Promise.

If I could, I’d wipe away your tears

And hold you close forever in shalom.

But God never promised I could write a rainbow,

Never promised I could suffer for you,

Only promised I could love you.

That I do.”

Giving thanks for rainbows in the rain and for “streams of mercy” never ceasing, carrying us through this life to the life to come.

Elizabeth