Private

The first drop hit my right arm when I was about a quarter of a mile from home, and I thought it was from the southern yellow pine trees over me.  A half mile later a gentle sun shower began and the wind strengthened.  Before long it was a steady rain, but it was such a nice evening that I figured I’d keep walking anyway.  How bad would it get?  After another 15 minutes the sun was reaching out to the horizon behind me, and in front a double rainbow framed part of a fenced-in field.  No one else was around, and so I enjoyed the show in private.  The water dripped from my hair and spotted my glasses; I wouldn’t have seen this if I had been nice and dry at home.  Not bad at all.

At the far edge of the field, probably about 75 yards away, I noticed an unusual optical distortion in front of the trees.  It was in line with the bottom of the right side of the bright rainbow, and it was colored.  The color wasn’t uniform, and I suddenly realized that I was looking at the end of the rainbow.  It was dim; the main part was brighter but appeared to be farther off in the distance and ended at the top of the trees.  My first thought was of Patrick, my Irish friend and colleague.  Alas, there was no pot of gold—only grass and dirt. 

Rainbows happen when raindrops cause a combination of sunlight refraction, reflection, and dispersion.  I would not have seen the end of this rainbow had it not been for the large number of raindrops between me and the other side of the field, and I was in just the right position relative to the sun to observe it.  This may have been a first in my life, and it was still a completely private event.  I didn’t take any pictures with my cellphone until the rain around me and in the field had stopped almost completely, and by then the end of the rainbow was gone.  The two bows were still such a striking sight that the guy who usually rockets past me in the white BMW 325i station wagon actually slowed way down.  Either that or his wife was admonishing him to be careful near the pedestrian snapping photos.

Once again I was reminded of God’s words to Noah.  I was moved by the beauty, and deeply touched that God had providentially provided me with this unexpected gift.  In my private thoughts I worshipped my Creator.

Not all of my thoughts are so rosy.  Do you ever have times of mental turmoil?

David was unusually gifted in that he not only communicated his thoughts clearly, but also as poems that can be sung.  About half of the psalms are attributed to him, and many reveal that he was a profoundly emotional man, prone to discouragement and mental uneasiness.  He said this:

 “Trust in Him at all times, O people;

pour out your heart before Him;

God is a refuge for us.”

(Psalm 62:8)

Pour out your heart before Him.  Picture this as water gushing out of a pitcher; the meaning is that you should fully express your complaints and desires to God.  One does not do this to inform Him of anything—He already knows what is in our hearts and minds—but sharing our most intimate thoughts with God does demonstrate our dependence on Him, and it also deepens the relationship.  Do you want a deeper relationship with God?

For me this process is intensely private, but as David says, God can be trusted at all times.  And you can do this morning, noon, or night.  Agitated? Anxious? Discouraged? Embarrassed? Fed up? Sad? Stressed out? Upset? Weary? Worried?  Pour out your heart before Him.  If you know God and are willing to accept His ways, then He will comfort you, and the turmoil will evaporate.