Rainbows up ahead

On Wednesday April 11, 1990 in North Virginia drivers turned on their headlights and readied their windshield whippers as a storm rolled in. It was one of those seasonal spring storms that arrives in an instant. One moment the sky is light and bright and the next a blanket of ominous dark clouds send sunglasses into retreat. Seconds later the rain comes wrapped in wind gusts. The droplets come down sideways pinging against metal like little stones being thrown from the sky.
It was on this particular Wednesday afternoon, on a particular stretch of road through the Shenandoah Valley, that such a storm rolled in. Little Ford Fiestas slowed down in the right hand lane as massive semis went zooming past on the left. Windshield whippers threw water away from glass in a furry as drivers squinted to see just a few yards ahead. How long would this downpour go on? How long would the storm last?
It didn't take too long for drivers to receive their answer. The storm went as quickly as it came. In an instant the sky opened back up blue and bright. Sunglasses were quickly grabbed from their cases to shield delicate eyes from the radiant light. The storm had been so quick, so short, that not even the pavement gave evidence to the downpour. The road ahead was clear and dry.
Up above, every cloud had departed revealing a magnificent sight. From behind the blanket of gloomy gray, a full rainbow emerged. The brilliant colors of red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet were painted across the perfectly clear canvas of the afternoon sky. The arch of the rainbow was flawless and each color was shining its brightest hue. It was as if the drivers were given a gift for enduring the ride through the storm.

I wasn't there on that Wednesday afternoon to experience that particular storm or see that precious rainbow's reveal. My big reveal, the occasion of my birth, was still eight hours off in the distance but for my Dad who drove through the storm on his way to meet his new daughter that rainbow was a promise.
In the rainbow that painted the sky on the day of my birth God delivered a message that He has been repeating ever since: In this life storms will come but, hold fast, because rainbows will always follow.   
Some storms in my life have lasted mere moments while others have lasted for years. Still God is true to His promise. On the other side of every downpour God has a clear road paved in peace and restoration. Beyond every gloomy, gray and cloudy sky, glorious healing shines. Breaking free from the darkness is the light of new life life beaming in eternal brilliance. 
No matter how fierce the storm I will hold onto the rainbow trusting with full assurance that there are always blue skies up ahead.