Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Rainbows

Verily I say unto you, ye shall weep and lament, and ye shall be sorrowful, but your Sorrow shall be turned into Joy.
John 16: 20

I have always enjoyed hearing the story of Noah, his family, and the animals that were saved through obedience to God’s command to build a ship and live within it’s protection for the 40 days and nights of flooding rain. However, over the past month I have come to wonder what a tremendous trial it must have been at times for them to endure such a storm. I can’t help but think that those 40 days must have seemed like years at times as they were tossed and thrown about the raging waters. Their hearts must have yearned for what they had lost…the comforts of their home, the brilliant light of the sun, close family and friends who had chosen not to heed the Lord’s command, and the freedom to walk about a land they must have loved. I’m sure there were days, or perhaps even weeks when they questioned the Lord and his plan…they must have asked “the why’s” and “what ifs”. There may have even been days they pleaded with the Lord to let the storm pass and moments when they begged him to restore the joy their hearts once new.

The storm Noah and his family passed through did end. Maybe not as quickly as they had hoped, and perhaps not in the manner they would have chosen, but it did pass.

My favorite part of this story has become the fact that the Lord was obviously mindful of the hardship of their storm. He was so aware that this mission he had asked them to endure was difficult, unpleasant, and trying that he gave them a beautiful gift…a promise. He sent them a sign…the symbol of the rainbow.

He promised them that they, nor any of their family, or posterity to come would ever have to pass through such a storm again. He created the rainbow as the symbol of that covenant…and still today we see evidence of that promise after each rain storm, no matter the severity of the rain.

He didn’t promise them that they’d never pass through anything hard again, or that they’d never be required to sacrifice again on his behalf, but he did covenant that they’d never encounter the flood again.

I now believe that the symbol of the rainbow was so significant and special to Noah and his family because it instilled an added amount of trust in the Lord. It must have given them a great amount of hope as they traveled through other “storms” throughout their lives…hope that at the end of the storm, there would be a “rainbow”.

Perhaps the reason this story is so special to me as of late, is because I can relate to Noah and his beautiful family. My storm started in August and raged for weeks, and there are still has moments of severity . I've tried to be obedient to what the Lord has commanded me, and find protection in him from the tossing sea. There are days that it seems the storm will never cease. My heart aches some times and I've often found myself on my knees pleading with the Lord to bring an end to the torment I found myself enduring. I wanted so badly to feel true joy again and to see the beauty clearly around me.

My storm hasn’t completely ended, but the rain has become more of a drizzle than an intense, tumultuous down pour.

And the Lord has sent me a rainbow…a sign that he is personally aware of my struggles and heartache. A symbol of his love and goodness. My rainbow came in the form of a sweet, healthy, happy baby boy named Rhett.

Realizing that he is my rainbow has taught me that sometimes what we think are our greatest trials are actually the sweetest blessings.

I know that this rainbow doesn’t mean I’ll never be required to pass through other storms along my journey, but like Noah, it has increased my trust in the Lord’s plan for me and filled my heart with hope…hope that when I encounter another storm and feel it raging around me, that in time...the Lord’s time, there will be a rainbow at the end.

The rainbow might not always come as fast as I desire, or in the manner I would choose, but I pray that I may always have the faith, the trust, and the hope it will require to wait for it.

8 comments:

  1. Julia you're amazing!! Thanks for the inspiration!

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  2. Julia, you are a beautiful writer and I always feel uplifted by reading your thoughts. I'm not sure if this is true, but it seems like bigger storms always seem to yeild bigger rainbows. I know that you will be abundantly blessed for the faithful way you handle life's storms. We love you guys. -Cami and Bret

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  3. You are seriously amazing! Thanks for sharing those thoughts.

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  4. Julia I love your blog! And I love those thoughts. Thank you for sharing them :)

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  5. That was a beautiful post. I think you should submit it to the ensign. I bet a lot of of other new mothers or mothers to be would benefit from this beautiful message. You're amazing!

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  6. You are seriously a beautiful writer- you are talented! I feel your pain sista! I went through it too. It was terrible to say the least. I know that's not always what you want to hear but I want you to know that you can always call on me when you need to (even though we haven't talked since we moved, haha oh well). Julia, you obviously have a very strong testimony of hope and that there is always a way out with when you rely on the Lord. I really appreciate this post. Thank you! P.S. I texted you today, hopefully you got my message:)

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  7. The story you shared reminded me of my mission. This may sound silly but I remeber this day in my mission where I got some letters from home, my sister was in the hospital because of getting injured with a car, my great uncle (whom I did know and visit) died, I got the "dear Jane" letter (although thankful for that now), and after I read all these letters my companion and I went out and got lost in this foreign country unable to read the maps, unable to speak the language, and had no idea which way was home anymore. I remember praying "Heavenly Father, I can't do this anymore, I want to go home to my parents" And I had a distinct impression come to my mind "this will be the hardest day of your mission, if you make it through this, you will make it through anything." With the impression that this would be the hardest trial... I trusted in the Lord, and it was. It didn't mean i didn't have hard times again, I did. But the Lord's word was good. I never had a day where i felt like the world was crashing in around on me again in my mission. I learned that you can ALWAYS trust the Lord. And also that he can and will help you in the way he sees best so that one day you can reach exaltation...
    I really liked what you wrote about Noah. I have never thought of it like that. I agree you are an excellant writer and have inspired anyone who reads your blog

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  8. Sorry it is michael's wife, don't know how to run this technology very well.

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