Finding The Secret

More Than Conquerors
Special RAINBOW Issue

“Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: ‘I now establish my covenant with you and your descendents after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.’
“And God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.’” —Genesis 9:8-16

Why Do We Have Rainbows?

When you see a rainbow in the sky
Do you ever wonder why?

Is there purpose for the rainbow?
I ask myself as I rub my pursed brow.

I think of the rainbow I saw the other day.
It was a double one, simply beautiful in its array.

The colors glistened in the evening skies
Touches of sapphire blue, scarlet red and golden yellow filled my eyes.

Is the only object of the rainbow
To get to the pot of gold below?

Or is the purpose of this beautiful creation
Simply the path to another location?

Did you catch that word I just said?
“Creation” is the word you just read.
Is that what a rainbow is?
A creation made by the Hands of His?

Is it more then just leprechaun and his pot of gold?
More then just a colorful road?

Let us look to the Bible to see
What it says to you and me.

I think God tells us in His Word
That to believe in leprechauns is absurd!

“I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be
The sign of the covenant between the earth and Me,”

It says in Genesis chapter nine verse thirteen.
So what does this mean?

A rainbow is the sign of God’s love
A gift from His precious Hands above!

A rainbow is a sign
Of our Lord’s touch divine!

The sight of a rainbow fills me with quiet
Calms my heart and mind’s riot.

So now, when you see a rainbow in the sky
Will you think of why?

Will you remember what God promised us, His children of great worth?
”Never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

So, again I think of the rainbow I saw the other day.
The double one, simply beautiful in its array.

The colors glistened in the evening skies
Touches of sapphire blue, scarlet red and golden yellow filled my eyes.

Praise You Lord for Your gifts so great!
And thank You for the wonders You create!

—Terra Mandrell
© Copyright 2003 Terra Mandrell. Used with permission.

Boats sail on the rivers,
And ships sail on the seas;
But clouds that sail across the sky
Are prettier far than these.

There are bridges on the rivers,
As pretty as you please;
But the bow that bridges heaven,
And overtops the trees,
And builds a road from earth to sky,
Is prettier far than these.

—Christina Rossetti

If I Were A Color

If I were a color,
Which one would I be ...
The green of the grass
Or the blue of the sea?

If I were a color,
Selecting only one;
The brown of the earth
Or the red of the sun ...

If I were a color,
What if I chose
the yellow of moonlight
Or the pink of a rose?

But God, in His wisdom,
Makes no such demand.
We’re each one a rainbow,
To brighten the land.

The rainbow’s a promise,
To state and insure ...
If fear is the illness
Then, love is the cure.

You Gave Me A Rainbow

I do not understand it,
Why You gave Your hand to hold,
And took my heart of stone
To transform it into gold.

Why did You send a rainbow?
I have deserved all the rain—
Hiding all the sunshine;
Bringing with it hurt and pain.

You gave to me a rainbow—
Seven colors speak of grace,
In radiance reflecting
The brilliant light of Your face.

Thank You for the rainbow—
May its colors always shine,
Burning all my selfishness,
Revealing the divine.

—Benjamin Graber

I Do Set My Bow In The Cloud

The roses bloom to late for me;
The violets I shall not see;
Even the snowdrops will not come
Till I have passed from home to home;
From home on earth to home in heaven,
Here penitent and there forgiven.

Mourn not, my father, that I seek
One Who is strong when I am weak.
Through the dark passage, verily,
His rod and staff shall comfort me;
He shall support me in the strife
Of death, that dieth into life;
He shall support me; He receive
My soul when I begin to live,
And more than I can ask for give.

He from the heaven-gates built above
Hath looked on me in perfect love.
From the heaven-walls to me He calls
To come and dwell within those walls;
With Cherubim and seraphim
And Angels; yea, beholding Him.
His care for me is more than mine,
Father; His love is more than thine.
Sickness and death I have from thee,
From Him have immortality.
He giveth gladness where he will,
Yet chasteneth His beloved still.

Then tell me; is it not enough
To feel that when the path is rough,
And the sky dark, and the rain cold,
His promise standeth as of old?
When heaven and earth have passed away,
Only his righteous word shall stay,
And we shall know His will is best.
Behold; He is a Haven Rest,
A Sheltering Rock, a Hiding Place,
For runners steadfast in the race;
Who, toiling for a little space,
Had light through faith when sight grew dim,
And offered all their world to Him.

—Christina Rossetti

My Wish for You

May your life be filled with rainbows,
After rains have come your way.

May the sunshine keep you warm,
On a long and weary day.

May the laughter of a friend
Ring often in your ear.

May “I Love You” be the words
That you most often hear.

May your life be filled with joy.
May you rise above each test.

May you have sweet sleep at night,
As you lay your head to rest.

May you wake each and every morning,
To anticipate the day.

May the love that’s in your heart,
Be shared along the way.

Bring me the sunset in a cup,
Reckon the morning’s flagons up,
And say how many dew;
Tell me how far the morning leaps,
Tell me what time the weaver sleeps
Who spun the breadths of blue!

Write me how many notes there be
In the new robin’s ecstasy
Among astonished boughs;
How many trips the tortoise makes,
How many cups the bee partakes,—
The debauchee of dews!

Also, who laid the rainbow’s piers,
Also, who leads the docile spheres
By withes of supple blue?
Whose fingers string the stalactite,
Who counts the wampum of the night,
To see that none is due?

Who built this little Alban house
And shut the windows down so close
My spirit cannot see?
Who’ll let me out some gala day,
With implements to fly away,
Passing pomposity?

—Emily Dickinson

Come And Take A Walk With Me
With the hope that someday I will find a “best friend for life”, this is for her…

If I could fit a sunset
In the palm of my hand
I’d give it as a gift to you
So my love you’d understand.

If I could place a rainbow
Inside of your bedroom
I would watch you with a smile
As it drove away your gloom.

If I could take of the sky
And sprinkle your life with blue,
I would not spare anything
To bring such wonder to you.

But I can’t do these for you—
So come and take my hand,
There’s so much beauty around us
We must learn to understand,

Though I can’t give you sunsets,
Or create for you rainbows,
Come and take a walk with me—
God has given us all those!

—Benjamin Graber

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or
nakedness or danger or sword?… No, in all these things
we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
—Romans 8:35, 37

If you have any comments or questions, or if you have a poem to share, please send an e-mail to bgraber@neo.rr.com

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