When you’re a mom, you get bonus kids. You know, the kids who are your kid’s best friends? They become your “other” daughters and sons. You watch them grow up alongside your children. You celebrate their successes. You suffer their heartbreaks. You love them.
I’m blessed to have several “other” daughters. But one has been in our life since she was three years old. My daughter’s best friend. For the sake of privacy, I’ll just call her Anna. They met in pre-school and are more like sisters than best friends. Navigating life. From elementary crushes to high school adventures to supporting one another from college campuses separated by three states.
As a mom, I’ve always prayed that my daughter would have friends who loved the Lord and wanted to serve Him. Girls who would grow into women of faith and conviction. It is so important to be able to do life with people who can lift you up as well as hold you accountable with the love of Christ. Anna is that for our daughter and she’s a special part of our life and the fabric of who I am. So, when she shared an experience with me, I asked her if I could share it in a blog. She graciously agreed.
Anna is pursuing her education in radiology and is currently doing her clinicals. It’s a demanding season in her life, working long days in the hospital, followed by studying. And some days, it seems overwhelming. A feeling we have all experienced. But the question that matters in those moments is how we navigate those stretches. Do we give power to our mind and the negative thoughts and frustration? Do we curse in anger? Do we give up? Or do we trust in the One who has promised to be faithful?
Anna chose the latter. Here’s the testimony she texted me that day. “My week has been awful. I’m in a new hospital and it was just so exhausting. I so didn’t want to go in today and was so discouraged. And this morning on my drive there was a rainbow right in the path that I was driving. It wasn’t raining or hadn’t rained or anything. And it followed me somehow where I could see it for an hour straight on my drive. I got so emotional! God’s so amazing!”
The picture accompanying this blog is her picture from that day. A picture of a rainbow. The covenant between God and His children. Promised so long ago yet gifted still today. A reminder that when things seem too big for us, they are never too big for Him. When we don’t have the energy to pursue; He fills us. When we are discouraged, He sends encouragement. On that day. On that road, Anna needed a rainbow. She needed a promise. And her Father lit up the sky to remind her of His love and faithfulness.
I cried when she sent me the text. For two reasons. First, at the intensely personal love our Father has for each of us. The reminder that He is ever present. In the minutia and mundane. He shows up and shows off. Man, I love that so much!
And secondly because I could feel Anna’s exuberance and gratitude through the words of her text. I knew that she just had a beautiful encounter with her Father. Her faith shone as bright as that rainbow. And for a mama, nothing fills your heart more than seeing your daughter’s faith in action. To know that she loves the Lord. To know His hand of protection follows her. To know his arms enfold her. And to know, that she knows Her God is ever present.
Anna’s journey won’t always be easy. There will be more frustrating days. Days when she’s exhausted as she pursues the path God has placed on her heart. But moments like this will be a reminder to her that she is loved beyond comprehension. That she is cherished so vehemently that God sends her rainbows. Just so she remembers.
This week’s accompanying prayer can be found at https://simplyjoy.online/prayers/thank-you-for-the-rainbows/