The 2 days after daddy passed away, it had rained. Yucky rainy weather. Not good for the spirits of a family mourning such a huge loss. As those 2 days passed, we made all the arrangements, and kept hoping for a sunny day for the funeral. On that Sunday morning, we were all so relieved to look outside and see sunny skies. Thank goodness for God opening up the skies and providing us with a beautiful sunny day. The entire time of the visitation and funeral the skies remained beautiful. After the funeral service, as the casket was loaded into the hearse, and everyone began forming the funeral procession, the wind began blowing fiercely and the skies began to threaten a horrible downpour of rain. We began driving the 10 minutes or so to Memorial Gardens, and the closer we got, the worse the weather looked. The entire ride, I commented on how awful this was. Why did it have to rain, now, of all times, when we were about to lay my daddy in his final resting place! Why did it just have to storm right now, at this moment? The most emotional moments of the entire past few days. Why?!?!
About 1 minute before we arrived, the bottom fell out. It was windy and awful. Then, just as we were getting my mother out of the vehicle and proceeding to walk towards the grave side, it stopped raining. Just stopped. The moment was very surreal. I don't remember all of what was going on at this time, and I don't even remember who said the next statement, but I heard someone say "Oh, my goodness! Look at that rainbow!" Then someone else said "Look, Pam! Look at that Rainbow!" I looked out toward the tree line, just where the clouds had opened up to let a ray of sun shine through, and there it was.....the most beautiful rainbow I had ever seen. Not just a single rainbow, but a double rainbow! The main rainbow was super vivid, full of the most beautiful colors nature could have ever created. The second rainbow overlapped the main rainbow and was a bit dimmer, but still a complete rainbow. We all stood there in amazement looking at this beautiful miracle of nature, and in that very moment, I was overcome with peace. I know with all my heart that my daddy sent this rainbow at this very moment as a sign for my whole family that he was OK. That he was happy and peaceful and finally living again in a much better place. Daddy always did things with such grandeur. He was full of life, wore the brightest colors he could find, and laughed from the depth of his belly with a big bright smile. These 2 rainbows were my daddy. Bright, colorful, beautiful and captivating. You can't look at a rainbow without smiling, and you couldn't look at my daddy without smiling. The rainbows began to fade as we walked to the graveside, but that image is emblazened in my memory, just as vividly as that day.
So, why did it have to rain? The most simple answer is that it had to rain for Daddy to be able to send us those rainbows. But, more than that, the symbolism of that day is that storms happen in life. We will go through bad times, but we should always be looking for the rainbow at the end. And seeing that rainbow after enduring rough patches in life will definantly make you appreciate the rainbow even more.
Now, every time I see a rainbow, I think of my daddy. What a wonderful thing to remember him by! I never truly appreciated the awesome beauty of a rainbow until that day, but I will never see a rainbow again without truly enjoying them. And, I believe every rainbow I have the honor of seeing will be brought to me by my daddy, as a gift, and I will enjoy them to the fullest. It was my daddy's last lesson to me....look past the bad times, ride out the storm, and enjoy the rainbows in life.
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