One day we were out walking and to our surprise, we saw an upside-down rainbow suspended high in the sky like the grin of the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. We wondered if we were dreaming or if it was a trick of the light, so we took a photograph to record what we saw.
We found out afterwards, it was no trick, but a rare event called a circumzenithal arc. It is caused by ice crystals refracting the light in wispy clouds at a height of around 20,000 to 25,000 feet.
In this event, the rainbow was not how we expected to see it and seemed to go against all our preconceptions.
In Genesis, the rainbow is portrayed as a symbol of God’s promises to us. Perhaps the upside-down rainbow is a reminder that sometimes God fulfils his promises to us in ways we are not expecting. Perhaps we need to be ready to let him turn our preconceptions on their head.
We need to learn not to put limits on how God works, but to be open to him prompting us to go in new ways and new directions. If we are prepared to be open to him, we might find him using us in ways we never thought of. He could just surprise us, just as we were surprised by the upside-down rainbow.
© Graham Wilson 2020 All rights reserved.
Community of Christ Leeds House Church Website.
