We've all been glued to our television sets watching the horrible devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Although I don't have any friends or family that live in Louisiana or Mississippi, I do have friends in Alabama, and know many who do have loved ones in the midst of this storm. Watching the eye of the storm move into the Gulf Coast region was ominous. As we were experiencing stormy weather as far away as Kentucky, it made me feel like I was somehow stuck in my own version of The Day After Tomorrow movie.
The other thing that struck me was the first promise of God I ever learned - The Rainbow Covenant. We all are probably familiar with the story of Noah. God was going to destroy the earth because the people were being disobedient. So, he asked Noah to build an ark to house his family, and two of every animal. Noah, being the only righteous man, spent years building the ark to spec. When the rain ceased after 40 days and nights, God made a promise to Noah; He would never destroy the earth again by flood, and the rainbow would be placed in the sky as a reminder.
As a child, this was a fun story because you got to be animals marching on the ark, or you climbed into an ark made out of a box and pretended to be shut up in there for 40 days and nights. And, every time I saw a rainbow, I remembered the story. But, as I watched this coverage of Hurricane Katrina, seeing the city of New Orleans being swallowed up by water, and feeling like it was coming this way, I was comforted. The promise of the rainbow became so much more vivid and important when I realized that the earth wouldn't be destroyed. My prayer is for all the families touched by this tragedy. I hope that soon they will begin to see and feel "rainbows" of comfort from those who will be helping them back to a normal life.
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