In June of
2000, the day before Ryan and I were married, my Aunt Alona passed away from a
brain tumor. I loved her so much, and
she was always quick to give a hug and a smile.
Occasionally she would come to visit with my mom and only I would be
home. I would do my best sign language
and finger -spelling to have a nice visit.
You see, my aunt became deaf at the age of five from a case of the
mumps. My mom tells a sad story of watching
her put her old records on a record player and just watching them spin around,
but hearing nothing. She was
unexpectedly disabled.
There are many
things I could say about my aunt, but since this is the anniversary of going to
the Lord, I wanted to share with you a “phenomenon” that happened on the day of
her funeral. On that day, our family saw
a gigantic rainbow stretched across the sky.
Many people might think of it as a “sign” from their loved one. But the Bible is very clear about what a
rainbow is. It was placed in the sky for
the very first time by God himself as a sign of his promise to Noah. Genesis 9:12-13 says, “ And
God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and
every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in
the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”
So a rainbow is a sign…from the
very creator of the universe.
So, I think it’s no coincidence, that on the day of my aunt’s funeral, the
Lord saw fit to show an extravagant diffusion of light across the sky. A sweet reminder to our family, that for
thousands of years, he has kept his promises. I believe God has a special place in his
heart for the disabled. In the book of
Luke there is a parable about the kingdom of heaven where a rich man invites
all the “upper-class” of his time to a lavish banquet, but no one can seem to
make the time to come. He tells his
servant to go into the streets and bring the crippled, the lame, the blind, and
the poor so that his house may be full. I’m
overwhelmed at this analogy to the kingdom of heaven. Heaven will be FULL of
these beautiful people! And they will be completely healed. How special that the first voice my aunt heard since the age of five was Jesus? The first choir, a heavenly host?
If one rainbow isn’t enough to convince you that this was a sign for us…how
about two? Last June, Ryan and I
traveled to New Brunswick for the funeral of a friend’s daughter. Little Emma lived with severe disabilities
and a seizure disorder for seven years when the Lord decided to bring her to
his banquet table. In June of 2013, just
over a year ago, we attended that funeral.
We drove the hour there in almost complete silence. Parents who share
this road of disability have a special connection to each other. We are tied at the soul to people we’ve never
even met in person. We went because we
HAD to celebrate Emma, and we NEEDED to hug her mom Alison. We felt so grateful that she was with God in
her new body, and so sad for her family who already desperately missed her. As
we were getting ready to leave the funeral, we walked outside only to see an
enormous rainbow stretched across the parking lot. Its peak was literally over our heads. I was speechless….there
it was again. I felt like God himself
came down and kissed me on the forehead.
Reminding me that he’s still got the whole world in His hands. That little Emma was welcomed into his
presence with great rejoicing because she was uniquely created to bring him
glory. That her mind and body were no longer captive to this broken world. That He keeps his promises…
I don’t know what you are going through today. I don’t know what obstacles you’re facing or trials
you are enduring. But as the anniversary
of these two are in June, I can’t help but think of those
rainbows and be reminded that God is faithful. Be encouraged that He cares about our lives and our losses, and that he keeps his
promises. If you don’t have a
relationship with him beyond an occasional prayer or check in the offering
plate, I strongly urge you to build a relationship with the God of the
universe who also uniquely created you to bring him glory. He loves you so much! Perhaps he is drawing
you in today?
Jeremiah 31:3 “The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying:
‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with
unfailing kindness.’ ”
Psalm 145:13
“Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all
generations. The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.”
