Right now, through a picture window in my kitchen, I am watching the rain pour down. This storm is frightening and daunting. The trees and branches are shaking and swaying in the wind, people are running by, trying in vain not to get soaked and my dog is hiding under the table, scared of the thunder. At the same time, this storm is absolutely beautiful; it is renewing and life-giving and it seems to make everything it touches new and whole again. This dichotomy is amazing to me, that something that seems so terrifying can also fill me with such awe and wonder. This terrible storm is creating a new earth. So what about the storms in my life? Is this dichotomy also present there? It seems so easy to see only the alarming and upsetting winds, rains, and thunder that happen in my personal life, but do I ever look for the rainbow that comes after the storm, the rainbow that is a physical representation of God’s undying love and care for me? It is not always something that I am looking for; rather, when I am in the midst of a terrible storm, I often forget that there is, or ever was, a rainbow waiting for me after the storm. God’s love and care is always there, during the storm and after, embracing each one of us in a blanket of love, drying us off and warming us up when the wind, rain and thunder stop. God is working hard to create a new earth in and through us and even though it sometimes seems too hard to continue on through the storm, God’s rainbow will be there after the storm, as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever.