Rainbows and Mustard Seeds

You’re probably asking yourself how I’m going to tie the two above things together. See in my mind things are often related that to a normal person (yes I am special – you may determine in what way) would otherwise be unrelated.

So yesterday was a h.a.r.d. day. Unfortunately it wasn’t the day per se or the events of the day, rather it just happened to be “the” day that many things all came together. Sorry folks, as much as group therapy over a blog seems somewhat interesting, I really don’t have an explanation for why yesterday was hard, I just know it was.

All that being said, I wish I could announce that the clouds have parted and the sun is shining, birds are singing, and happy days are here again. But that is a scene from a Disney movie, not LIFE.

But all is not lost. See last night as I let my mind mull over the day and the “issues” two things popped in my head: rainbows and mustard seeds. See you knew I would eventually get back to those.

I love a good rainbow. The colors, the size, the pot of gold and leprechauns (scary little men in green outfits with Irish accents - hmm, I’m Irish maybe I’m a leprechaun). Sorry, got off track.

Rainbows also signify hope and better yet hope in a promise. That made me think of Ben and an old post of his. (Sidenote: Ben you helped inspire this post.)

The thing about rainbows is that they appear when it is still either raining or overcast. Their beauty is in direct opposition to the darkness of the storm and they shine forth in that partial darkness. Rainbows don’t signify the end of the storm; in fact they can’t appear unless there is still water in the sky, unless the storm is still lingering or about to make a second attack.

Instead rainbows are that glimmer of hope that this too shall pass. They are the mark of a promise that this is temporary, the storm will pass, the damage will be repaired, and the sun will shine again. The funny thing is that once the storm has passed and the sun is shining we can’t see the rainbow anymore. We don’t need the reminder of the promise because the promise has been fulfilled.

Did you also know that no two people can ever see the same rainbow? Because the water and light that form the rainbow are always moving and your eyes and my eyes cannot occupy the same exact space we get to see our own personal rainbows. In the same way, in every storm of life we each get our own personal promise of hope.

Now on to the mustard seed. Have you ever seen a mustard seed? They are small. In fact here is a picture to show you just how small they are.



When I worked at Kanakuk (yep another kamp story) the leadership girls would give all the counselors encouragement gifts during Work Week. It was something we did to encourage them as they sweated and worked and weren’t able to shower everyday (yep we were that mean). For some reason the leadership guys never gave encouragement gifts, hmmm must not be a manly thing to do. I’m sure they wrestled or something to show the guys they cared. Sorry, I got sidetracked again.

One year we gave everyone a mustard seed and I still happen to have mine. And so once again, as I was thinking of the “issues” the mustard seed popped into my head. (I have no explanation for my thought process, it works for me but I’m sure seems very crazy to other people.) And the verse that we attached to the mustard seed came to mind.

“The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.” Luke 17: 5,6

I love the request, no demand, of the apostles. They asked the right man for their need. “Increase our faith!” (I also love that there is an exclamation point, I can just hear the hunger and the desperation in their plea.) Jesus answered back with an interesting claim. If (conditional of course) you have faith as small (letting you know the amount of faith needed) as a mustard seed, you can . . . . do the impossible.

Now I don’t know about you but I haven’t really needed to replant a mulberry tree with just my words so far in life. Good thing too, because I’m not sure I can even muster up enough faith for it to be a mustard seed size. I just need to make it though the day, which seems a lot easier than miraculously moving a tree. So all I need is a fraction of the mustard seed size faith. Just a little bit, just enough to know that He is able to move the tree, He is able to get me through the day, He is able to give me the hope and the promise of tomorrow.

The best part of both the rainbow and the mustard seed is that it reminds me that I don’t have to be sufficient. I don’t have to have all the answers. I’m not supposed to. I’m not able to. Hope, promises, faith, they all make you look to something outside of yourself for the answer. The other thing about the rainbow and the mustard seed is that they exist inside the storm, inside the need, inside the cruddy days when everything comes crashing down. Hope and faith are never more real then when you are so aware of your inability, your weaknesses, your failures. That is when the rainbow offers the most hope, when your eyes behold the true beauty of the promise. That is when the fraction of a mustard seed worth of faith is grasped so tightly in your hand.

So yesterday, today, and tomorrow I will ponder the wonders of the rainbow and the mustard seed. No, happy days aren’t here again, but I have the promise of the future and the hope in the One who gives that promise, and I have that miniscule bit of faith that He says is sufficient.