When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth. Then God said to Noah, “Yes this rainbow is the sign of the covenant I am confirming with all the creatures on earth.” (Genesis 9:16-17)
I have been thinking about how to describe my renewed relationship with God. Renewed seems fitting considering He has never left me, yet I veered off track for a while. It was kind of like, “it’s not you, it’s me…” I digress, however, thankfully I have found my way back. With that said, I feel like a novice. Each time I read through a verse it feels new to me, I read it over again trying to find the bits I may have missed the first time. If I am being honest, seeking for deeper meaning, respecting the word of our Lord can at times feel challenging. Coming to the end of Genesis and reflecting on what we have read for the last couple weeks, the theme that keeps rising up for me is unconditional love. God loves us. All of us, the good, the bad and the ugly. On our worst days, He loves us. In this way He is never giving up on us as He did not give up on the descendants of Adam and Eve. Time and time again they choose evil over good. They think they know better, they break his heart over and over again and yet God never stops loving them. I like to think God is on the sidelines almost cheering them on, never losing sight of His vision for us.
God is there, He is always there to forgive and heal us with His love. Through Him it would seem that we can find love and forgiveness in our own lives. As I read and pray through God there is a conscious effort to live like Him. While this is a tall order, through the deepening of one’s faith and taking God’s word for what it is, not what we think it is, we can strive to live like Him. I have noticed that my perspective has shifted. Subtle, yet in the moment when it clicked in my head, I smiled to myself, it is happening! In that small moment at 4:58am in a discussion about who should be allowed to get the Covid vaccine first I think God smiled. He gave me a little squeeze, I could almost feel my heart expand. Moments like that connect me to Him in this life, on this planet that He created. Moments like that make finding that quiet time to read His word exciting and something to look forward to rather than just another thing to get done. I hope that as time moves on that they become more frequent. I also hope that I can share this experience with others so that they too can feel His love, because it is beautiful, just like a rainbow.
Reflections by Brianna Gibaldi