Look for the Rainbow

 

One of the most important lessons I learned at my grandmother’s knee was, “There is something good in everything that happens – if you look for the rainbow.” This wasn’t idle talk; she really believed it. And she lived by those words.

Anyone who’s read my blog or any of my books knows that I spent summers as a child with my maternal grandmother and that her daughter, Betty, was only three months older than I was. Aunt Betty and I played together and became very close, remaining so throughout our lives.

Any time we were tempted to complain about a rainy day or anything else, my grandmother would stop whatever she was doing and give us the, “Look for the rainbow” lecture. We learned the lesson well!

She once allowed us to bake a cake all by ourselves on a rainy afternoon, teaching us that there are other fun things to do when you can’t go outside and play. We were so proud of ourselves when the cake was finished, even though the kitchen was a total mess! (She never said a word.) And we were doubly proud when we served our dessert after dinner and every family member went on and on about our delicious cake and what a good job we’d done!

Children learn a lot from praise! 

During our recent snowstorm, I remembered those lessons I learned from my grandmother, although, at times, a little fear crept into my mind: would our heavily snow-covered roof collapse? Would an overburdened tree fall on the house? But putting all the negative thoughts in God’s hands, I focused on my grandmother’s belief that there is some good in everything that happens.

When it started snowing on Friday, it snowed and snowed and snowed some more until there were at least 18 inches of the white stuff where I live and more in some of the more mountainous areas of the state.

I went from window to window to window taking pictures all day long at different stages of the storm. I found myself enjoying it thoroughly and, after a while, had no room for worry.

It was so beautiful!

 

 

  

  

 

  

I was still taking pictures at two a.m.     

  

As it turned out, it was a dry, powdery snow that didn’t cause a lot of fallen trees or collapsed roofs or power outages. It paralyzed the area for a day. Schools and stores were closed, people didn’t go out. It was quiet. Peaceful! A good time for families to spend time together if they appreciated it enough to take advantage of it.

That we got to enjoy the awesome sight of a pristine white world for a little while was surely the “rainbow” my grandmother had mentioned! 
 

--------------- 

After the sun came out on Sunday.
 

 Blue skies and sunshine lend an innocent look to the day, only 24-48 hours after two feet of snow paralyzed the eastern part of the country..

 

 

This beautiful sunny afternoon reminds me of a child who misbehaves and then looks at his mother with wide eyes and declares, "I didn't do it!"

www.amazon.com/author/peggytoneyhorton