Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Two Promises

Three years ago, the world crashed around our family when our eldest daughter suffered a life-threatening brain aneurysm and stroke. While she was on a respirator at the hospital, my husband and I took a short respite from round-the-clock sentry duty to attend the wedding of our friend's daughter. 

The outside wedding was in the afternoon in Florida. The afternoon weather in Florida is known to be unpredictable. Often, it rains with little warning. This afternoon was typical for Florida. 

The rain started with a trickle and soon became a deluge threatening to move the ceremony inside. All the guests were seeking refuge under a nearby park shelter. 

I stood with a friend from the church as we waited out the storm. Denise and I engaged in small talk about the weather, and we wondered aloud if the ceremony would be moved. As we talked, we each seemed preoccupied. The gloomy weather matched our private gloom, and the weather conversation masked the emotional storms we were each facing. 

The awkwardness of our conversation was broken by the easing of the storm as the rain began to subside. It wasn't long before it cleared up, and the sun made a feeble attempt at shining.

"Maybe they will be able to have the ceremony outside after all," I told Denise. "We should both pray that God will send us a rainbow!" 

I didn't need to elaborate. Denise knew what I was saying. It was no secret that we each needed soul calming. Denise's husband and my daughter were both facing an uncertain future. Miguel, Denise's husband, had just been diagnosed with aggressive cancer. Jenn, my daughter, was not breathing independently or responding to anyone. 

After the chairs had been dried off and the guests seated, the ceremony began without a hitch. The bride and groom stood under a huge banyan tree as mist from the rain shrouded them. It was a beautiful scene. From where I sat, I could gaze just above the tree into the cloudy sky. The clouds hung so low that I was sure we'd be soaked at any moment. Selfishly, I prayed for a rainbow before the sky opened up again. 

No rainbow appeared. 

It wasn't long before my eyes began to water, and I couldn't stop my salty raindrops. My tears weren't tears of joy for the bride and groom. They were tears of despair. I desperately wanted God to answer my prayer! I halfheartedly watched the ceremony as my mind drifted to my daughter's hospital bed.

As I stood to leave, I glanced one more time at the sliver of the sky over the banyan tree. It was at that instant that the rainbow came into view. I was momentarily overwhelmed by the sight of it. My husband had to grab my arm to keep me from falling over. 

"You okay?" He asked nervously. 

"Do you see it!" I pointed to the sky. 

"What?" He asked.

"The rainbow!" I said as raindrops started pelting us.

My husband grabbed my arm and started hurrying me toward the shelter.

"I didn't see any rainbow." He said as we reached the shelter. 

"Well, I did!" I said stubbornly. "I prayed for the rainbow, and I saw it! I know that Jenn will be okay because God sent it!" 

Later, at the reception, Denise and Miguel were tearing up the dance floor. To look at them, you'd never know that Miguel had just received devastating news about his health. I kicked off my shoes, grabbed my husband, and joined them on the dance floor. Soon, we were all dancing as if we had no care in the world. 

As the crowd gathered on the dance floor, I danced close to Denise. Over the din of the party, I asked her if she saw the rainbow. Denise smiled at me, grabbed my hand, and led me over to the edge of the dance floor where we wouldn't be knocked over by the swaying mob. 

"Yes, Betty, but there wasn't just one - there were two rainbows!" She laughed. 

"You're kidding!" I yelled over the music. 

"No!" She yelled back. "I'm not kidding. It was a double rainbow! It was only there for a minute, but I saw it!" 

Some might say that God doesn't exist. Some might say that He doesn't make or keep promises. Some might even say that God has nothing to do with rainbows. I know that God answered two prayers that day with two promises. 

God chose to color Denise's and my grief. When He sent that double rainbow, He brightened our darkest hour. God knows when and how to answer prayer. Sometimes He whispers. Sometimes He shouts. Sometimes He's silent, and sometimes He makes us open our eyes to the rainbow's promise.

God never promised a life without pain or sorrow. God never promised the sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way. The day of two rainbows was when God promised something good would always come from the storms of life. 

God gave my daughter a new life. It isn't the life we wanted for her or one she would have chosen for herself. She could be miserable, but she is grateful for the blessing of each new day and thankful that she can live a full life, even from a wheelchair. 

God gave Denise and Miguel three more happy years together: Three more years with their family and friends and three more years of dancing. 

It is not always easy to be thankful. Sometimes, we don't want to thank God! We are commanded to give thanks IN all circumstances - not FOR all circumstances.

I went to my friend's wedding feeling less than thankful. I left the wedding with a promise of God's faithfulness. I was reminded that a spirit of thankfulness is something we must always keep close to our hearts. We learn life lessons when our hearts are thankful - especially in tough times. 

As a mother of five children, there are many days I don't feel thankful. I don't feel thankful when my patience is stretched thin over a new catastrophe in one of my children's lives. While I didn't feel grateful when I lost my son to a fentanyl overdose, I realized that his tragedy propelled me to do my part to help save someone else's child. Thankfulness isn't always something we feel. It's something we must practice. So, on Mother's Day, I urge all moms to thank God for His many blessings and remember his promises.  
















1 comment:

  1. Beautiful, a reminder that after every storm is a rainbow!

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