Colorful Reminders

Many of us know the story in the Bible of Noah.  Noah was a man who built an ark obediently, to shelter his family from a great storm.  When finally the rain ended and the earth dried, God put a rainbow in the sky as a promise to Noah that He would never again flood the whole earth.  A reminder...that God brought them through...and that He always would.  

Sometimes I need a reminder.  Sometimes I need a big fat rainbow of a reminder that God is good and that He is working out good things in my life.  God is pretty patient with me.  But often I am anything but patient with Him.  I know that I am losing patience when I stop thanking Him for all that He has already done...and all that He has already brought me through!  Thankfulness is key in preventing my attitude from becoming sour and foul.  And oh how easy it can turn foul!

I don't know about you, but when my attitude turns foul, no one in the house is safe from it!  I bark too loud at bedtime; I frustrate too easily at homework time; I am weary at dinnertime.  And a frustrated, weary, and barking angry mama is not a blessing to her family.  I have lived each one of these realities lately.  I hate admitting it!  Wish I could oh so humbly(ha ha) brag about how gentle, patient, and kind I have been recently.  Sure, there have been some of those moments.  But I've had too many moments recently (I'm sorry to admit) that have been the opposite of gentle, patient, and kind.  And what is at the root of it?  Worry.  And what is worry exactly?  It is fear!  Fear that God isn't really listening.  Fear that He has no intention of answering any of my prayers.  Fear that He doesn't even care how things work out in my life.  That's it folks!  It is fear, plain and simple.  And one cannot live in fear if one is too busy giving thanks.  But I haven't been.

I have set aside my thankfulness journal and I have spent more time, as of late, detailing my worries and concerns to God--about several areas of life--rather than thanking Him for what He has done.  Thanksgiving is a conscious action.  If we are not practicing thanksgiving, then we are not living in thanks.  If we are not living in thanks...well, let me just speak for myself....I am instead living in worry fear.  

God knew that Noah was likely to forget how his family was spared, at one time or another, so He gave him the rainbow as a reminder.  The rainbow is a visible, colorful reflection of God's light and goodness.  The thing is, we have such visible and colorful reminders of His light and His goodness too.  All around us.  Honestly, if I just breathe deep and open my eyes, I notice His goodness all around.  And I need to take those moments to give Him my thanks.  Psalm 77:11-12 says "I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.  I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds."  Just thinking about what God has already done on my behalf and on behalf of my family is enough to pull me out of the funk!  Giving thanks is what I need to do to remind my heart and my mind that He is truly in control and that He has never stopped listening to me.  He is answering our prayers even as we give thanks!

Several nights ago, after a few hours of rain, the sun peeked out a little as it continued sprinkling.  My son came running up the stairs shrieking, "You have got to see this!"  And as my husband and I made our way downstairs, we saw a breathtaking reminder of God's goodness.  And it wasn't even just half a rainbow (as I often see).  Nope, it was the entire beautiful, perfect arc.  (Of course, I couldn't fit that into my camera, so I took two pictures.)  I was telling my husband that I think it was the first time in my life that I could remember seeing the entire arc.  My son then said, "That's not all Mom, it's a double rainbow!"  Sure enough!

Wow!  He loves me!  He has gentle and colorful reminders all around me of how faithful He is.  I just need to open my eyes to see...and give thanks.  I need to actively remember and remind myself of all that the Lord has done.  And that giving of thanks will be enough to chase away the fear.  He truly does hear us.  He has an end to every storm.  And His goodness and light is all around us as a reminder that He loves us and He is faithful to perform His promises.  

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