Promises...

Like a lot of other people, I've had floods on my mind. I know of some who have had to re-start their lives due to flooding. My friend, Lisa, moved to Tennessee after Hurricane Katrina and started a new life.

Our current pastor is from New Orleans and lost everything in those same floods. This past week, his in-laws were displaced again by flooding in Louisiana. They had to be rescued from their home where they moved after Hurricane Katrina. They have again lost everything!

I heard a newscaster say, regarding those whose homes were flooded, "Everything they own is ruined."

The word ruined struck me because I've used this same word a lot in the past several years in regard to things in my own life that I no longer feel the same way about because they were ruined to me.

My younger sister recently used this word to describe her life after her son committed suicide.

Sometimes an "event" in our lives that we don't expect can make us feel ruined.

Just like those living too close to a river that overflows it's banks and ruins everything it comes in contact with, so it is the same, at times, in our own personal lives. Things we loved are washed away and we will never be the same.

This past Saturday, I sat on the deck of our new home reading a book (Little Women) I recently found at a yard sale and I heard something that caught my attention. I realized the sound I heard was rain hitting the trees a little way from our house but the rain hadn't made it's way to me yet.

I found it interesting because I heard the rain and knew it was coming before it was visible in the field next to our house. I waited and eventually saw the shower of rain falling in our yard but the sun was still shining. I thought, I bet there's a rainbow.

Then I turned around and right behind me was a huge double rainbow that looked like it was ending right in the field behind our house.

I could not believe it!

I jumped up and snapped some pictures then took a video with my phone. I banged on the bedroom window close to me to let my son and his friend who was visiting know to come outside and see the rainbow.  They tried to run after the end of the rainbow but it dissipated before they could reach it. :)

It was some excitement, I tell you! You don't see a huge double rainbow like that often. As a matter of fact, I've NEVER seen one like that in my entire life. It felt almost supernatural because it was so close.

Now, I've got floods, rainbows and promises on my mind!

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 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 NIV

Yes, it will still flood. Rivers will overflow their banks and homes will be destroyed. But ALL life will never be destroyed again by a flood. God promised.

Yes, we will experience "life floods" where we feel like everything is completely ruined. But we will not be completely destroyed because God is with us through those floods. He will not leave us. He will not forsake us. God says so.

My husband was not with me on the porch when the rainbow appeared. He was driving in the driveway and snapped this picture of our new home with the double rainbow shining behind it.

A beautiful reminder that God keeps His PROMISES.

The Bus...

Last spring, we moved into our new home. Since it was nearly the end of the school year, we made other arrangements for Joseph, our 13 year old, to get home from school instead of riding the school bus.

But with the new school year starting, he wanted to ride the bus home each day. I called the school bus transportation department last Thursday to find out which bus he should ride. The person I spoke with didn't have the answer but promised to find out and call me back on Friday. That phone call never came.

I then asked my husband to call our neighbor, whose kids ride the bus, to find out the bus number. He was unable to get a hold of them to get the answer.

So, the weekend came. My husband made a trip out of town and we busied ourselves with fun weekend activities. 

Before we knew it, Monday was upon us, along with the first day of school. I remembered that I still didn't know the bus number. So, I told Joseph as I drove him to school, that I'd call and find out which bus he should ride home and would let him know.

He then suggested that he would just go to the office and ask.

"Good idea." I was impressed with his Monday morning logic. I'm pretty sure he gets that from me...lol

I dropped him off for his first day of eighth grade at the middle school and headed to work for a busy Monday morning. Which bus he should ride didn't cross my mind again until he sent me a text at the end of the day to tell me that he was in a neighboring county on the wrong school bus!

"What?  Why are you in Davidson County? How did you get on the wrong bus?" I asked confused.
My mind raced wondering how he was going to get home and if I needed to go pick him up somewhere, etc. Then I wondered who told him to get on a bus heading in the wrong direction!

"Someone in the office told you to get on that bus?" I asked.

"No, I asked my friend which bus to ride." He answered.

Oh...

Now it all made sense. Instead of going to the office to ask someone in authority for the answer, he just asked a friend.

He took instruction from someone who thought they knew the answer instead of taking it from someone who actually did know the answer and he ended up in a mess!

I couldn't help but think of us Christians and how often we listen to what people say instead of what God says.

All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.               2 Timothy 3:16 (NIV)

We want someone to tell us what to do (and they may not even be a Christian) instead of going to the source. We can end up in a terrible mess by doing this.

The authority in our lives is God's word. It will lead us in the way that we should go and we won't end up in the wrong county on a bus going the wrong direction!

Thank goodness the bus driver was kind enough to go out of his way to bring him home.