Where’s Your Rainbow

The first time I watched The Wizard of Oz I was a young girl glued to the television. I was amazed at that moment when Dorothy’s world turned from black and white to full color. I realize I could have been afraid of the witch, or amused by the munchkins, or perplexed by the flying monkeys, but for me the magic was in the color.

I’m just realizing now, after almost fifty years that the theme of color runs throughout that story. There were ruby red slippers, a yellow brick road, and the Emerald city. The song, “Somewhere over the Rainbow”, stirs nostalgia in our hearts and once again underscores this theme of color.

Color and rainbows symbolize hope for so many and for so many reasons. We see them after storms of all kinds, when things have settled, and we need assurance that we are ok and that we will continue to be ok. They are the embodiment of hope.

Rainbows can come in unexpected packages at unexpected times. I drove to a pond yesterday. On it were kids and adults swooshing around on skates and hitting pucks with sticks. I walked up to the edge. My hands were in my pockets, my favorite purple hat was on my head, my eyes were closed and I just listened. I became aware of the sun on back, a car pulling away, and a dad tossing a hat to his daughter. But I kept turning my attention to the sound coming off of the ice.

It’s a sound you don’t often hear, the swooshing and the smacking out in the open air. For me it felt like hope, it felt normal. I needed normal yesterday. So, yesterday my rainbow came in the form of blue skies and yellow sun and silver blades on white ice. It was beautiful.

Sometimes rainbows come as gorgeous bands of color; sometimes they come in unexpected packages. Today I am thankful for rainbows, in whatever way they choose to come.