Day Twelve: Rainbow

"Let me get this straight, ma'am, you rear-ended this vehicle which was stopped at a stop light because you saw a rainbow?"

"No, officer, that's ridiculous.  I was LOOKING for a rainbow.  It didn't actually appear until about a minute after the accident."

This is the scenario that probably came very close to happening as I desperately looked out of all the windows of my car to catch a glimpse of the elusive rainbow that I knew was hiding in the clouds somewhere.  But let me start from the beginning (less than 5 minutes earlier). 

I was driving home from the first day of a 5 week discipleship class at The Table UMC.  It had been pouring rain, dumping rain, sprinkling rain, and steady even tempered raining in about 5 minute cycles for past two hours or so.  I say this because I was adjusting the tempo of windshield wipers approximately every minute during the drive.  I was turning off on my exit when I noticed the rain had stopped and there was a strange glow in the sky off to the right which was the direction I was headed.  I then realized the sun was setting and this is the first time I had seen it all day.  And suddenly it dawned on me...

OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD!  There's a rainbow around here somewhere!  There's sunshine!  And rain!  I have to find this rainbow RIGHT NOW!  I then began searching frantically for what I KNEW should be right there in the sky.  But I couldn't find it.  I guess I was convinced that I wasn't searching hard enough because I continued to look out each side of the car hoping it would suddenly appear. 

I was just about to give up.  I was already beginning to form an angry rant in my head to recite to John when I got home about how I was cheated out of seeing a rainbow and knew it should have been there somewhere. 

But then, as I turned unto a new street, there it was.  It was a complete half circle.  It was everything I had dreamed a rainbow could be.  I continued to watch the rainbow as I completed my drive and even stood in the rain for about 30 seconds admiring the rainbow once I had gotten out of the car. 

Thankfully I did not cause an accident in my search for the rainbow.  While explaining the situation to a cop might sound hilarious on paper, I don't imagine it would be very pleasant in actuality.  I probably would have made something up to save face and then offended the rainbow and it would have taken vengeance on me by never allowing me to see it again.  Or worse, it could have said "No, its okay, I understand" while looking down at its feet in a heartbreaking gesture and makes you feel like the worst human being on earth for hurting its feelings.  Thankfully I avoided all that.  This story has a happy ending which is: I saw a rainbow. 

Angela