Friday, February 2, 2007

Of Dark Clouds and Rainbows


On my way to work the other day I saw this beautiful rainbow. It's quite an unusual rainbow - it's very thick with very bright colors but I could only see half of the arch.

While driving towards it, I also saw dark clouds on the sky. Slowly, I saw the dark clouds engulfing the rainbow until the rainbow is gone. Now all I could see was mountain covered with fog and dark clouds.

It was windy, cloudy and rainy the whole day at work. Later that day, on my way back home, I saw it happen again. First the beautiful rainbow, then slowly a dark cloud covered it.

That night we got an e-mail from our dear friend. Here's what the e-mail says:

We had an amazing experience tonight that we wanted to share with you all. While sitting in our spa in the dark, the full moon rose behind us. Facing the ocean, as we looked upward, we saw a vast white rainbow arcing across the stormy sky. We surmised that it must be a moonbow, something neither of us had ever seen.

We looked it up on the internet, and sure enough, it was indeed an occurrence of an extremely rare moonbow.There are only 3 or 4 places on earth where they appear, and Hawaii is one of them. They also appear in Victoria Falls, Kenya and in New Zealand. We were in awe.

Our Creator is an artist, and we can only imagine the amazing things we will witness someday in His presence. The heavens declare the Glory of God!


As I reflect on these phenomenon, I realize how spiritual "dark clouds and rainbows" affect our lives. In the Bible, the rainbow signifies God's promises. Dark clouds symbolizes calamity, famine and hardship. In my life, there were many times when dark clouds cover God's promises...and if I don't hold on to my faith, I would give up and not know that the rainbow stays there...always available, but just temporarily our of sight. And sometimes, if I am sensitive and observant, i will see another sign of promise...not a rainbow but a moonbow. It's not the same but equally amazing.

The weather on Maui is still unpredictable. It's raining outside as I type this. We live on part of Maui that is almost always sunny so this is something unusual.

As I drive to work today, I will reflect some more on "dark clouds and rainbows" and will remember that God's promises (the rainbows) are always there. When the circumstances in my life does not show it, I should just be calm for I know that God even if the rainbow seems gone at the moment, God will show me a moonbow.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. - Jeremiah 29:11

The photo above was taken from Wikipedia. Go there to read more about moonbow.

6 comments:

Kamsin said...

Wow, a moonbow sounds amazing! I often find that I see rainbows at moments when I need reminding of God's faithfulness. In amongst all the dark clouds and rain God is always at work creating something beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Hi Liza--I like being quoted on your blog. It makes me feel famous! And while I'm expressing what I like, may I say how much I enjoy your blog. You are a gifted writer and your little perceptions about the ups and downs of life have a real comfort to them. I'm glad it's an effective means of processing your feelings, because it helps me process mine too.

You are just a beautiful woman, inside and out. I'm glad I know you. You are very dear.

Tammy Brierly said...

A moon bow is definitly an amazing sight. God has certainly blessed us all with moonbows and rainbows ;)

Anonymous said...

I love moonbows!!! And boy am I jealous of living in Maui. I visited Maui once a few years ago and can't wait to go back. Thanks for visting my site...

JILL

Anonymous said...

Gotta love the verse. It always give me goose bumps.

Ame said...

that is really amazing.

yes, i cannot live without God's rainbows in my life :)