Rainbows

“Into each life some rain must fall; some days must be dark and dreary,” Longfellow wrote in his poem, The Rainy Day. It’s true. No one gets all sunshine. Sorrow, disappointment, loss, loneliness, hurt— the clouds are inevitable too. “God hath not promised skies always blue, flower strewn pathways all our lives through; God hath not promised sun without rain, joy without sorrow, peace without pain.” (Annie Johnson Flint, 1919)

“Rainy days” can darken our lives—or they can create beauty not seen before. What are we able to see sometimes as rain falls and the sun shines through? The rainbow, an arch of colors over the clean-washed earth, bearing testimony of God’s presence and love. In the same way, though our hearts are sometimes troubled or heavy with cares, God gives “the oil of joy for mourning and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” (See Isaiah 61:3) We can still offer to the world the joy of our salvation.

This makes rainbows: sunshine through rain, and radiance through tears. George Matheson, the blind Scottish preacher, prayed, “My God, I have never thanked Thee for my thorns. I have thanked Thee a thousand times for my roses, but not once for my thorns . . . Teach me the glory of my cross: teach me the value of my thorn. . . Shew (sic) me that my tears have made my rainbow.” Matheson was engaged to be married, but upon learning that he soon would be totally blind, his fiancée left him with only shattered dreams. He thought of taking his own life, but instead wrote the moving words of “O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go.” (1882) “O Joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to Thee; I trace the rainbow through the rain, and feel the promise is not vain that morn shall tearless be.” Matheson was blind, but he could see the rainbow that was joy shining through the pain. The words of this hymn show that he understood very well how the rainbows in personal lives are made.

“But God hath promised strength for the day, rest for the labor, light for the way, grace for the trials, help from above, unfailing sympathy, undying love.” (Flint)

MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)

Source for Flint and Matheson poems: http://www.cyberhymnal.org

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com