by Sharlyn Williams

 

He got up, and rebuked the wind and said
To the waves, “Quiet! Be Still!” Then the
Wind died down and it was completely calm.
~Mark 4:39

 

A few years ago, working for LAUSD was the bomb! I mean, I knew that I could increase my monthly income if I was willing to work extra. And I was always willing to work extra! It seems like those days are gone forever. Now it’s furlough days, and no extra work, really a forced illegal pay cut. Yet, I thank God for my job and keep moving forward. Rather than long for the “good ‘ole days,” I am looking for the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, the relative calm after the storm. In quiet moments I say to myself, somehow, someday, things will change. Deep inside I find myself singing the tune, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” I am desperately seeking a rainbow experience. Seek Christ, find the rainbow! Anyone here need a rainbow experience?

 

Perhaps you remember playing the game “Let’s Pretend,” with your friends. Let’s pretend was a game we played where anything could happen, “let’s pretend!” When we are young and have our whole lives ahead of us, we can pretend and hope to see a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. As we grow older, our dreams fade slowly and life situations dim the sharp focus of our dreams; a hazy film blurs our vision, suddenly we don’t see rainbows anymore, perhaps because we have become too lazy or complacent to chase after them. No need to pretend, there really is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, I know, because I read the account of Christ in the bible where he calmed the storm with his signature statement; “Peace be still…” That peace is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

If you have diligently followed my little lessons, you know that in some way I talk about transformation, restoration, and exhortation in every lesson. True transformation, restoration, and exhortation occur when we refuse to let the storms of life overtake, but instead seek rainbows which can be found in the company of a committed Christian, or after reading God’s word in earnest. Calm that occurs after a storm, cannot be understood in the absence of trouble. We visualize a rainbow of peace.