• Start Here
  • About
  • Shop
  • Blog
  • Get In Touch
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Marybeth Hancher

Marybeth Hancher

  • Free Resources
  • FAQ

Unexpected Rainbows

April 20, 2017

Daily Ramblings No. 1
April 20, 2017

It rained this afternoon. In fact, it poured. Hard. I was inside blowing bubbles with Nadia while we watched what looked like buckets of water pouring from the sky through all the glass in our Great Room. I thought about all the times it felt like the stresses of life were drowning me.  Like I couldn’t make it stop.  Doesn’t that happen sometimes?  Hardships and stress can pour on us relentlessly, and even though we know there has to be an end, in the moment its feels suffocating.  Hmm… that was a strange thought considering the day has been wonderful to me.  My mind sure does wander a lot.

Minutes later, the water thinned out.  The quick storm appeared to be coming to an end. I opened the screen door, stood under the small overhang at the pointiest tip of our triangular A-Frame roof, and I said under my breath, “God, can you give me another rainbow? I’d really love to see one today.” This might seem like a funny request- one might even say that God doesn’t just give us things like that on our command. You’re right- He doesn’t always… but the last time it rained, I asked the same thing and seconds later, right in the spot I was staring into, a big, bold, bright rainbow appeared. I did my own version of the rain dance and took it all in- The beauty of the bow and also the fact that we have a God who hears my voice and shares His love with me on such a personal level. I needed a rainbow that day, and although I’ve been having quite a great day, I still longed to see that beautiful, promise-filled symbol at the end of the storm.

I waited. And I waited. I blew some more bubbles for Nadia, and I looked outside. I felt that rainbow coming the way you can tangibly feel in the air when a storm is about to hit.  It’s coming.  I know it’s about to appear… But it never came.

Huh.  Oh well.  I guess that’s ok.  Not that I should be disappointed, right?  As I thought this, I heard once again the gentle Voice of God in my heart.  “Come outside. I have something to show you.”“Look around. Do you see it?” I looked up at the sky. By that time, the dark rain clouds were replaced by white clouds- some wispy and others like giant cotton balls.  And the sun was streaming in from behind them. The sky was bluer than blue, and no matter which direction I looked, I didn’t see the rainbow.

“Look all around. Describe to me what you see.”“Well, ok. I see a blue sky.  And emerald green grass.  There are purple trees, and dandylions popping up all over the place. Oh look, the cherry blossoms are in bloom, too!”

Nadia yelled out the door to see what I was doing- her crazy mama walking barefoot in the wet grass.  Maybe I should put some shoes on.I walked back to my sweet girl who was looking so beautiful in an orange shirt.  Never noticed how nice that color looks on her.  As I walked onto the porch, jumping out from under the chaise lounge was my beloved Hawkeye- our kitty who sometimes chooses to camp out under a chair on our front porch while it’s raining. Silly boy.  I never knew a cat that doesn’t mind getting a little wet.  Although I do wish he’d come in or at least go in the garage. His fur can get so dirty. Our sweet black and white ball of fluff…. Oh.  I understand now.“See? There’s been a rainbow right in front of you this entire time. You just weren’t looking.”

Red and pink cherry blossoms. Nadia’s beautiful orange shirt. The yellow dandylions. Bright green grass. Blue sky. Purple trees. And even a touch of black and white.I think there are times that we face storms in life and we desperately look for big answers. When it feels like it’s finally clearing, we reach and grasp and ask for great signs. Reassurance that everything is going to be ok.  And many times, God’s just wanting to tell us that He’s been there the whole time. Sometimes He does go big and gives us very bold answers to courageous prayers. But other times, He’s all, “Sweetheart, I never left. If you look around, you’ll see that I’ve been with you the whole time. I’ve answered your prayers in many ways- But the answers aren’t always going to be one giant display at the end of a trial. Sometimes they come in separate pieces right in the middle of it.”

Look around. Reach out, and reach up. There could be something beautiful right in front of you- and He doesn’t want you to miss it.

XOXO

in Faith

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kimberly says

    April 21, 2017 at 11:03 am

    Such a wonderful reminder of how He us always with us and ever faithful! Hugs to you and yours sweet sister in Christ!!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

with love
Marybeth

Family Storyteller + Illustrator here to support you & your creativity. Thanks for joining me!
read more

marybethhancher

I anticipate December being our best homeschool mo I anticipate December being our best homeschool month yet. Kinda easy when the curriculum is adorable & fun and the activities are endless! ❤️Last night as I was planning the week, I came across a shop on Etsy called @noahsschoolhouse that has the cutest little Nativity Story set with character study cards, word scramble activities, a booklet with the story that includes questions and a glossary, and more. It’s going to be so sweet to get this out each day as we learn.I laminated them so we can use dry erase markers to dig in a little more. Today she underlined every time we came across a name so we can study the people first. (We learned all the times in the Bible the angel Gabriel appeared to someone with a message from God, along with his name meaning so that was fun to talk about.) Next I’ll have her underline some of the places and events to study those, too.Our copywork includes Christmas songs and verses. We’ve got poems and lessons to learn about how others celebrate Christmas across the globe. She gets to practice for her little church performance which will be so cute to see! We’ll be making decorations and baking and calling it math & science and being ok with that. 😉 Like I said, it’s gonna be a great month. 🎄Fellow home-teacher-moms… what are your plans? 🥰
❤️ Thanksgiving 2024 🦃 I’m so happy my pa ❤️ Thanksgiving 2024 🦃 I’m so happy my parents could join us this year! I loooove hosting Thanksgiving & I actually really enjoy the many hours (or days 😆) of prepping and baking and creating the very best dinner I can serve the people I love… in the prettiest way possible. This year, Dana spatchcocked the turkey (which freaked Natasha out when she saw what looked like him performing a very sloppy CPR on the bird 😂) and it turned out great! I realized we no longer had the charcuterie board we once had, so Dana said, “Give me 20 minutes” and emerged from his woodshop with a fine slab of cherry wood and the most beautiful peacock shaped handles to adorn it. (Matches all the other peacock decor in our house. 😍) It’s funny how we’re typically not fancy people until I host a dinner night, then suddenly it’s all table runners & cloth napkins. But even if all we had that evening was canned corn and the cranberry sauce that never loses the shape of the can eaten on cheap paper plates in the middle of my living room… well, that also would have been enough. I have been blessed in abundance my entire life, not necessarily in riches but always in love. On Thanksgiving and every day, I am so grateful! ❤️I hope you all had a lovely one, too! 🥰
“Then if my people who are called by my name wil “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14Humble. Pray. Turn. Seek. Heal. ❤️
We prayed. We voted. We wait. “As for me and my We prayed. We voted. We wait.“As for me and my house…”No matter the outcome, we serve the Lord & we trust Him.Your will be done, God. ❤️
Every second I get to spend with my sweet Natasha Every second I get to spend with my sweet Natasha is a gift like no other. She is growing quickly, and while I may feel sentimental and a little sad at times about how fast childhood goes, I’ll never be sad about seeing the beautiful, intelligent, Jesus loving, cat cuddling big kid she’s becoming. She gives the most heartfelt handmade gifts, draws the cutest and funniest pictures, asks the best questions, plays the silliest games, has the wildest imagination, feels everything deeply, is the very best little sister to Nadia, and makes friends everywhere she goes. I couldn’t be more proud to be her mother! So on her 6th birthday, we’ll eat cake, decorate with all things unicorns, and Dana and I will (as we do every birthday) end the night smiling, maybe a little teary eyed, and feeling unbelievably thankful that we were given the best gift of all. Raising this girl is such a joy!Happy birthday, my darling Tashie! ❤️
The other day I posted a story asking if anyone wa The other day I posted a story asking if anyone wanted to form a bookclub of sorts and read this with me… I didn’t anticipate that @lisabevere would share it to her own stories and that I’d receive a big YES from more than my local friends! 🙌🏻 Truthfully, I was really only thinking of my church sisters since I don’t necessarily hang out on social media much these days 🫣, but the Lord is pressing it on my heart to go for it and take the lead because this is a battle both near and far, and we have to fight it together. So for those that didn’t see my story, if you’d like to join a small group of females ready to fight the good fight to take back the identity God has given us since the beginning— grab this book! Let’s kick off next week. Read at your own pace but plan to discuss about 3 chapters each week (the chapters aren’t long but man are they powerful!). I’ll share some posts here on IG to get us talking, but if there is any interest in a Facebook group for easier (and more!) discussion, I’d be happy to make one of those, too. Share your thoughts on that, will ya? ⬇️
Load More... Follow on Instagram
2023 © Guinevere
Design by FD