taste the rainbow.

andy and i saw the most amazing rainbow tonight as we were leaving the OG. just before we went in to eat, you could see the ominous storm approaching, and it was beautiful. on one side of the horizon, it was clear and serene... on the opposite side, the sky was painted with varying shades of gray and deep blues. lightning flashed a bit in the distance. when we exited the restaurant, it was pouring, yet one half of the sky was still clear and the sun was still shining brightly. andy pulled up the car, and pointed to the rainbow.

i've just never seen one so full and bright as i did tonight. all of the colors were defined so beautifully, and both flanks were crystal clear.

i thought of God's mercy as i beheld this sight:

And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."

So God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth." (Genesis 9:12-17)

i don't know about you, but i often wonder what God is thinking. like, when it thunders, or when i'm all alone, walking on a beach. God, what are You thinking right now? sometimes i feel confident that i know, other times i have no clue. but what i find really interesting about the aforementioned passage is that it is very clear about what God is thinking at a given moment in time: when you see a rainbow, you can be sure that God is thinking about the covenant He has made with mankind and other living creatures on the earth.

you and i, we probably read this and sort of think whoopty freaking do. thanks for not flooding the entire earth again, God. i know for me, i do not feel the full weight of this covenant. can you imagine what it would have been like for Noah to hear God say this, though? before the flood, Noah spent years of his life building this ark, believing that what God had confided to him was true. he wasn't near any water, but the water was going to come to him. he must have looked crazy to everyone that knew him! but... once the floods came, he spent about a year in a floating box with his family (including a son named Ham) and a bunch of smelly animals. everybody else on the planet died... Noah and his family were the only ones left. can you imagine how traumatic that would have been? i wonder what they talked about when they got off the ark. i wonder, ten years down the road... how did they remember the flood? did Noah tell the story to his grandchildren with a mischievous grin, or were there tears in his eyes, remembering a world he used to know?

so when God spoke of His merciful covenant with Noah, well... i can just imagine Noah thinking about how hard the flood was... how scared his family was, how fearful the animals were, how bad the boat smelled... i can imagine him weeping for days at hearing God's covenant, mostly in awe at the goodness of God, for pulling them all through. that covenant was probably one of the most meaningful things Noah had ever heard.

i don't quite get it yet. i think it's pretty awesome that i knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what God was thinking tonight as the rainbow appeared, but i still think i don't quite understand its meaning.

if you have any ideas, feel free to comment.