"I still could see the sun"

I was in such a mood yesterday. I tell you this so that you realize that everyone faces challenges. I am an inspirational writer and speaker. I am human and fallible. But what I believed, the core of who I am, fought to break through the darkness of the attitude I had chosen for this day.

It was a combination of things, most of which I have permitted to fester beneath the surface, choosing not to deal with them and rid myself of the negative thoughts. I won't get into the details. I don't want to whine about it any more.

It all came to a head in the parking lot of a store I was about to enter. I called my wife and told her how overwhelmed I was but just couldn't explain why.

I've been here before, but I have developed thinking skills, mixed them with a strong faith and have always learned to rise above it all. I have to. I have a job to do, a life I love and since I believe I chose to be overwhelmed with life, I can also choose to put it all in perspective.

I headed home.

As I was preparing dinner it started to rain. I had just started the charcoal grill and I could easily have added this silly little coincidence to my collection of problems for the day. But I simply accepted it.   No thunder and lightening, just rain gushing down on my plans.

I went about preparing the rest of the meal, choosing to believe that a little rain wasn't going to stop me from making dinner. It will eventually stop.

It did.

Had I chosen to rant and rave all day long I would have been half crazed by now. But I chose to believe it would all resolve itself.

Suddenly the sun broke through the clouds. It was a perfect opportunity for me to turn this day around completely. I would rely on a promise made and kept. A covenant, as it is called.

I rushed outside to find the rainbow. In the Bible the rainbow is used to remind us of the covenant between God and man.

I needed reminding.

I first headed out to the deck. Nothing in the sky. I then walked around to the left side of the house. Nothing.

I walked down my driveway and panned across the horizon. Still nothing.

To say I was disappointed is an understatement. You see I am a seeker of rainbows. I love to come across them by accident, but I also believe that these are treasured gifts, so one must hunt for treasure.

Once again, this piled atop all the other negative thoughts I danced with today, should have plunged me into a deeply depressing mood. But I shrugged it off.

The sun faded away.

Finally getting to all the grill work I had to do, I thought about what this day meant to me. Then, once again, the sun burst through. Not just a sneak peek but a sudden explosion of sunlight.

I paused and thought "Why waste your time?" Just write off this day and forget it.

But my curiosity got the best of me. I ran out to my front porch, scanning the skies....I saw nothing. A neighbor friend, who has been known to come charging out to search for a rainbow under the same conditions drove around the corner. As he pulled into his driveway he yelled, "Did you see it?"

"No, as things went today I was not meant to see one," I said.

"See one? You were one!" he said laughing.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I was coming down the highway and I saw this beautiful rainbow in the sky. I was excited because It looked liked it ended right near my home. I quickly drove up the road and as I turned the corner, there it was. It looked just like it was touching your house as you were standing on the porch," he said with excitement.   "It was awesome!"

I couldn't believe what he was telling me. All along I was searching for something that, in reality, I was a part of already . I was a part of my neighbors rainbow. I was the sign that I was looking for. I was the reminder that I needed.

"Did you find a pot of gold?" he asked jokingly.

"I am the pot of gold I was looking for all day," I replied.

~ Bob Perks ~
2believe@comcast.net

[ by: Bob Perks Copyright © 2005 (2believe@comcast.net) -- {used with permission} ]