Promise of the Rainbow

One day last week Sue and I travelled up to Doncaster to visit our daughter Steph, son-in-law Matt and our beautiful granddaughter Beth.  We spent an enjoyable, relaxing day with them.  Sue fancied visiting the nearby Lakeside Village Shopping Outlet.  To be honest, such places are not normally my cup of tea (they all seem very much the same to me!)  However, I knew that there was a Thornton's shop and cafe there, so I was hoping that we might be able to stop off for one of their delicious hot chocolates.

The weather had turned quote overcast and damp, so it was just as well that we were mainly under cover.  Having Beth with us meant that we could use one of the parent and child parking spaces.  We visited a number of shops in the complex, including one which sold children's clothes.  As I was wandering around rather aimlessly, I happened to notice a child's jumper which had printed on the front a caption and image which attracted my attention:

We British seem to like to talk about the weather, and we often complain if it's raining.  Yet the message on the jumper is that in order to see the beautiful rainbow we have to accept that the rain must come.  We may not always appreciate the rain, but when the rainbow appears it can bring great delight.

In the Bible, the rainbow is seen as a sign of God's covenant commitment to his people.  God's promise is not that life will be free from storms, difficulties and tough times.  But he does promise that he will be right alongside us in those tough times.  He also promises that there will come a time when the storm clouds will roll away.  In the words of the Psalmist, 'Tears may flow in the night, but joy comes in the morning.' (Psalm 30:5)

I am pleased to say that before we left Lakeside I did manage to have a Thornton's hot chocolate, which was delicious.  We then headed back to Steph and Matt's home.  As if to reinforce the message on the jumper, the rain began to fall, the sun shone, and a lovely rainbow appeared in the sky:

There is probably not a person alive who doesn't experience tough times in life.  How wonderful to know that we don't have to face them alone.  There is One who promises 'I will never leave you or forsake you.'