Rainbow Remnants in the Sky

The office was quiet; my co-worker had gone home 5 hours earlier than planned to rescue her husband who was having car trouble. All morning long I had been thinking about how I would rather be reading my Bible instead of doing what I was doing. The afternoon looked as if it was going slow enough on it’s own when suddenly it seemed to stop at 1:56pm as the sight of a rainbow outside my office window caught my eye. There before me on the third floor of the building where I worked was the most breathtaking rainbow I had ever seen appearing just for me.

Carrying a fascination and love for rainbows ever since I was a young girl I have always found it difficult to pass an opportunity to gaze upon one when they materialize in the sky. The rainbow today that I was observing showed a uniqueness all it’s own like I have never seen before. What a dazzling gorgeous sight to see. As I looked upon it, it appeared as if God was using it to catch my attention and it worked, as the bright colors seemed to say, “Christ is here and He’s on His way.”

Surrounding the rainbow was a sky loaded with semi-dark rain clouds ready to burst at the seams with the water they were carrying. In the far north was an opening in the clouds and the rays of light that were coming down showed up in the colors of the rainbow beneath the opening. It wasn’t a typical arched rainbow that can be seen after a rain. The clouds themselves took on the shades of purple, blue and green as they were stacked one on top of each other in a horizontal manner. From where I sat the array of colors looked about 3 inches wide when in all reality up close, it had to have been thousands of feet or perhaps miles in width.

Slowly as I typed on my computer recording this awesome wonder, the colors began to fade into the clouds and the rays that were coming down disappeared. Oh what a strikingly beautiful sight it was, it was like Christ had come to tell me, "I'm here Kari Jo. I'm here.” Soon other bits and pieces of rainbows appeared in various areas only to quickly vanish into the clouds. The more I dwelled on this dazzling show of colorful chunks of rainbows appearing and disappearing in the sky I began to think of Christ’s return. Boy, what a stunning entrance scene it would make if God surrounded Him with the bright colors of the rainbow instead of rolling out the red carpet for Him. Not that He plans to roll out any “red carpet” but the picture of this vision just wouldn’t stop forming in my mind and in my heart.

Next thing I knew the radio on my desk began to play one of my favorite songs by Norman Greenbaum called “Spirit in the Sky.” Resisting the desire to turn the music up and rattle the windows I quietly listened to the words he was singing as it added to the Outdoor Show I was enjoying from my office windowpane. Between listening to the lyrics of the song talking about “when I die and they lay me to rest I’m going to go to the place that’s the best” and seeing the rainbow art show outside by 2:05pm I would have given anything to give my Father God a great big hug.

Loud or soft the words of the song and the rainbow display were causing my heart to race faster than I’ve ever noticed before. The tears drenching my cheeks just wouldn't stop flowing as they came from the inside of my heart. Speaking out to the Lord I said, “Lord Jesus I love you so much! After that experience I don't know if I can concentrate on my work. That was too great. I love you too! Being in heaven with you definitely is going to be the place that's the best! I can't think of any place I'd rather be.”

Fourteen minutes later at 2:19pm the show continued as rays of light were beginning to come back through the clouds in two different spots in the color of a rainbow. They were there for 5 minutes or so before they slowly began to fade away. Getting up from my desk I decided to walk into the next room to see if I was the only one able to view these, as I heard no comments from my fellow co-workers about the colorful rainbows appearing outside. Sure enough they could be seen from their side of the office. Keeping my experience to myself I returned to my chair to watch further the show God was putting on for me.

Next thing I knew flying directly over my office for its third trip on this cloudy autumn day was one of the Air-life helicopters from the hospital across the street. With my heart and eyes still looking to Christ and the moment He was sharing with me I said a quick prayer for the person that was being transferred to or from the hospital, throwing in an additional prayer for their spiritual needs.

After that my thoughts led me to thinking about how Christ is the true "Air life" person, the one who saves lives forever, for all eternity. Crowding in on my blessed moment with the Lord were the memories of what happened at work just a few days prior to this day. A co-worker was sharing her opinion of a fellow colleague, using frequent cuss words to describe her feelings about this person. Pretty soon she turned to me and laughingly said, “Cover your ears church lady, cover your ears." At the moment I thought, how sad, truly it was her eyes and ears that were covered and blocked off from what she needed to hear. Meditating on that and looking at what I was seeing today with the rainbow show out my window I thought to myself, “I don't want to cover my ears nor my eyes, I want to see and hear the Lord when He arrives. I want to be the spotter, the greeter, the town crier, the neighborhood watch.”

Praise God that fifteen minutes later at 2:34pm there were still remnants of rainbows becoming visible only to fade away minutes later in the northern sky. The joy I was experiencing inside of me was beginning to be too much and I just had to dig out the Bible I had stashed away in the locked file cabinet drawer near my desk. I just had to read about the first rainbow as it materialized in Genesis 9:12-17. What a captivating thing to read how God said, “Whenever the rainbow is in the clouds and I look upon it, I will remember the everlasting covenant or pledge.” Perhaps deep down inside that is why I have always been attracted to rainbows. The knowing in my heart that at the same time I’m looking at them He is looking at them too using it as a reminder of the covenant and pledge that He made so long ago. The new covenant made at the time of Noah, as well as the even better one yet to come through our savior Jesus Christ.

Looking again to the clock at 2:45pm at last a full size rainbow arch came into view just Northeast of where I had been seeing the remnants. The clouds in the sky over the last few moments were growing much darker than when the show first began. The chest pains I began to notice deep inside my chest wall definitely had to have been from the spiritual heart attack I had experienced that was brought on by God himself. Within three minutes at 2:48pm the full rainbow arch that had temporarily appeared was now totally gone as it came and went as quickly as the previous bits and pieces of rainbows had been doing.

By 2:54pm six minutes later the dark rain clouds were rapidly moving to the Northeast still holding on to the water within them as they left a large circle of blue sky directly over my office building where I had the privilege of watching this act of God before me. Only four minutes had lapsed when at 2:58pm another remnant of a rainbow appeared in the North. This one was slanted with a white light that shined brightly as it stretched far below the bottom color of the rainbow. Within two minutes at 3:00pm it faded as quickly as it had come into sight.

Pausing for a moment I began to chuckle thinking about what God was up to that afternoon. Was God so bored in heaven after He completed His daily tasks that He decided to drop in to say “Hello” to those He loved? Maybe the computer system in the rainbow machine malfunctioned and He decided to go out with the fix-it crew to get it going again? “Or maybe, Kari Jo?” I had to think to myself, “He had something more important on His mind and that which was shown today was only the beginning.”

Whatever the reason, once again it started up as the arched rainbow returned at 3:26pm but this time it was accompanied by a faded mirror image of itself off to the left several miles away. Turning my head to my work for only three minutes at 3:29pm I looked once again toward the two rainbows sitting side-by-side. “Wow!” I shouted silently to myself, the rainbow on the right was becoming brighter and brighter as the base of it grew in width. It was almost as if the mirror image of it that I had seen on the left had now moved over to join it reinforcing it's color as it doubled in size.

One more time over the building where I sat the Air-life helicopter interrupted my show as it set out on another trip as God also continued His journey through my heart. Trying to bring myself back to the work in front of me, I thought about the papers that I needed to deliver to someone but I didn't want to leave my front row seat in this outdoor theater of God's. As with all the other remnants the bright showy rainbow began to fade at 3:36pm but my attention had not as I found it extremely difficult to walk away in hopes of more.

Finally pulling myself away from work I went to my car and headed North towards home. No more rainbows to be seen, no more remnants in the sky as the reminders of God’s love were now on the ground level where I was. Passing a United Parcel Service truck heading into the town I was leaving I spoke up and said, “I love you too Jesus.” A remnant in itself of something that God and I have shared for several years. Whenever I see a car with one headlight burnt out I take it as an opportunity to say, “I love Jesus.” For every UPS truck that travels by that is God’s opportunity to say I love you to me. So whenever I see one of these trucks I reply back to the Lord with a, “I love you too Jesus. I love you too.”

For to me when I see that word UPS I think of looking up to my Lord and Savior. The slogan on the side of this oddly shaped van is a slogan shared by Christ as well as it says, “Worldwide Delivery Service. Dial 1-800-Pick-Ups.” Imagine that, worldwide delivery service at the doorstep of anyone who is willing to call Him up and invite Him into his or her hearts as well as their lives. Today it may have only been one woman attending His art show but you can bet He has others going globally as He drops in to say, “I love you “ to His children who are listening and paying attention. Before I had reached my home that day I had seen three UPS trucks and was able to say three times, “I love you too Jesus, I love you too.” Praise God!

The next day at work I found out from my co-worker that the problem her husband was having with his pickup was water in his oil. In the physical world that can be fatal but in the spiritual world it’s a blessing indeed. After reviewing the events of my afternoon I would have to say that was exactly what happened to me too. I had gotten Living Water in my oil, the anointing oil of Jesus that was applied to my life years and years ago. “I love you too Jesus, I love you too!”

Closing Thought: God is out there with reminders or remnants of His love that we need to be looking for as well as opportunities ourselves to tell Him that we love Him too. Forever willing to keep our eyes and ears open to what He has to say. As we allow the Living Water to flow through our lives not around it, intermixing with the anointing oil of Christ to a beauty all its own. Chances are if we are not seeing this its because we are not paying attention. God is out there, its up to us to look.


Copyright 2007 by Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipe Publishing