Rainbows

It's not every day we get to see a rainbow.  And here in the Valley of the Sun, where average rainfall is about 8" per year, rainbows are few and far between.  So when we see them, we stop; put life on pause; take pix (if you're like me!); and think about what a rainbow really means.  

There are superstitions about a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and somehow leprechauns are in that as well.  

The formation of a rainbow is this:  When the sun shines on the drops of rain as they are falling, the rays that come from those drops to the eye of the spectator, after One reflection and Two refractions, produce the primary rainbow.  

In Genesis 9:13  God says:  "I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth."

For me, whenever I was contemplating a big decision, and feeling as if I'm not certain which way it would go ... seeing a rainbow would make me feel as if it was a sign to go ahead with my decision.  And its always turned out to be the right thing.  I remember when I was feeling uncertain about my decision to leave my ex husband.  There were very valid reasons for me doing so, but there were also things that would be difficult if I did.  I remember vividly sitting in a drive through parking lot with my son, wondering out loud if my decision would be right for him and me.  And a rainbow burst across the sky and we sat watching it for 10 minutes and in that moment, I knew it was going to be ok :) 

"Sometimes it's important to work for that pot of gold.  But other times it's essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow.  ~Douglas Pagels

May the warm winds of heaven blow softly upon your house

May the Great Spirit bless all who enter there

May your moccasins make happy tracks in many snows

and may the rainbow always touch your shoulder.

~Cherokee Blessing