Hope

The weather lately has been well, let’s be honest, a bit dismal.  Every morning I check the weather report on my phone and it has been consistently stating that Williamsburg has a 20% chance of rain.  Which basically means, it should be a pretty nice day.  The only problem with that is that we have had cloudy conditions and gotten some rain every day.  I checked, we are not in a rain forest.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, in fact, the overcast skies have shown me when the sun does break through the clouds, it is even more brilliant.  I have always thought that when the trees are in their showy parade of colors, they are the most awesome when the sun shines on them, but the background is clouds.  There is just something about the contrast that showcases all the colors and the scene becomes a kaleidoscope.  (A few days after I wrote this, The Weather Channel published a video which showed that on average, November is the cloudiest month for upper Lower Michigan.  Ahhh, well that explains it.)

            Add to the scene a rainbow, and a miracle has occurred.  A rainbow has always symbolized hope for me.  I think it is because it shows that God hasn’t forgotten us.  It shows that His nature and science has produced something special that isn’t a common-day occurrence.  This particular rainbow presented itself as ending on Skeegamog point.  I was not the only one who stopped to take a picture and linger to watch it before it faded.  My neighbors’ son also took a picture of it and sent it to his mom.  A couple stood at the end of the road where they had parked their car and were standing arm-in-arm simply taking in the sight.  Cars had pulled over to the side of the road so that the driver could experience the rainbow as well as the passengers.  It was an awesome sight.

            As I think back at the rainbows I have seen in my life, the majority of them have been here in Michigan.  This is probably because the weather can change very quickly around the lakes.  However, this also makes me think that Michigan is a state of hope.  I know that Michigan has been hit very hard by the latest financial woes.  Those who have experienced it first-hand, know that I’m not trivializing it.  It just seems to me that people who live in Michigan are hardy people who love nature and are no strangers to getting knocked down and knowing how to brush themselves off and get back up.  That’s what a rainbow symbolizes.  It only appears after a storm.  It shows that there is beauty and magic after the storm.