"Turn Up the Light in My Heart"
If we conceal our wounds out of fear and shame, our inner darkness can neither be illuminated
nor become a light for others. —Brennan Manning
We were in the last week of our vacation in the Florida Panhandle when we found out that there was a named storm, “Karen,” forming in the Gulf of Mexico. Not only was it forming, but it was potentially tracking our way—if not with the eye of storm, then with the direct east side of the hurricane with its heavy rains and tornadoes. It sprang up from nowhere and was heading for the coast.
We were extra tired this particular year, and we really needed a life-and-breath-giving break. I could not believe “Karen” might hamper that by following us to the beach. As it turned out, “Karen” became a non-event, except for a day and night of heavy, sideways downpours. Now this is the awesome part—the next morning after the storm cleared, there was a gigantic rainbow across the sky. On first glance, we only saw part of it, but when we got right up to the window, we saw the whole expanse—arching up high into the sky and extending from the gulf to the bayside of the island. It lasted in full color for at least twenty minutes. Needless to say, we took enough pictures to document the event.
The rainbow brought us a deep feeling of hope—hope that like this storm and the other storms in our lives would be coming to an end. A new day. Life. Hope. Breath. Connection. I prayed that the Lord was extending the olive branch to me and to us. He sent a rainbow and with that rainbow came a promise—a promise of life—a promise of a new day, as in the story of Noah.
Now fast-forward one month. I was sitting at my Mac editing our beach photos when I received an awesome surprise. There on the picture of the full rainbow was something we had not seen—a double rainbow. And not just a partial one, but one that followed the entire arch of the first. Catch this—it wasn’t until I added more brightness that the second rainbow was exposed.
PRAYER
Father God, turn up the light in my heart and let the increased brightness reveal you right there with me, even when I do not know you are there. (Excerpt from "Loving God, Loving Myself")
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