Where Do Rainbows Hide?

By: Marla O’Neill-Written on 11/10/2000

Timmy sat on the floor in front of his mother looking up at her with a questioning look on his face. His mother looked at him and said, “What is it Timmy?” “Mommy, where does the rainbow hide? Timmy’s mother looked at him and said, “Well, I’ve never really thought about it before.” She thought about giving him an explanation but didn’t really know how to explain it to her six-year-old son. So she did what any smart mother would do. She said, “Why don’t you go ask your father?”

It was a warm Saturday afternoon and Timmy’s dad was working in the back yard. He was bending over the lawn mower pulling the rope several times to get it started but it was not working. Timmy came running out of the house, slammed the back door and called to his dad. “Daddy, Daddy!” Timmy’s dad looked up a little startled and a little frustrated about the mower. “What is it Timmy?” “Where do rainbows hide, and why are rain drops see-through, and what makes the stars twinkle?” Timmy’s dad looked at him with a puzzled look on his face, stood there for a few seconds, scratched his head and said, “Well, let me think about this for a moment. Which question would you like answered first?”

Looking at his dad with rosy red cheeks and bright blue eyes he knew his dad could solve these mysteries for him. He took a deep breath and said, “Where do rainbows hide? I see them sometimes and then they disappear, where do they go?”

Timmy’s dad looked at the lawn mower, then at Timmy. He walked over to a lawn chair and sat down. Climbing up on his dad’s lap, Timmy waited patiently for his dad to explain.

“Long, long ago in a far distant land lived a man whose name was Noah. In Noah’s time rain had never fallen from the sky, the earth was watered by a mist that came up from the ground. People had never seen rain or a rainbow before.

God told Noah to build an ark, which is a very large boat, big enough to carry two of every kind of the animals and seven of other kinds. God said, “Noah, I am going to send rain from heaven and cause a great flood to destroy the wicked and evil that is going on in the world.”

Timmy’s eyes got real wide as he listened to the story. He asked, “But daddy why would God do that?”

“Timmy, God loved his creation, he loved humankind, mommies and daddies and the children. Just like you and I are sitting together and we are talking to each other, God wanted to do that with his children too. But they did not want to talk to God anymore, they wanted to do very bad things that hurt God and hurt each other. God tried to tell them not to do those things, that if they did he would have to correct them, but they would not listen. He tried for many years hoping they would change but they did not. They got worse and worse and so God had to clean up the world and he did that with a flood. Noah was the only one who would listen to God and God loved him with all his heart. So he told Noah to build the ark.”

“This makes me very sad daddy, but I’m glad Noah and his family were safe. But daddy, what does this have to do with the rainbow hiding?”

“Yes, well I’m getting to that.” His dad said.

“After forty days and forty nights of being on the ark, the rain stopped. So Noah sent out a raven to see if there was any dry land, but the raven came back. So he waited a few more days, then he sent out a dove, it came back with an olive branch. He finally sent out another dove and it didn’t come back. So Noah knew the water was going down and it would be safe for them to come out of the ark.”

“What happened, what happened?” asked Timmy.

“I’m getting to that. So Noah opened the door of the ark and all the animals came walking and crawling and slithering out. The elephant’s raised their huge trunks and let out a great ERRRRRRRR. The lions stretched and opened their mouths wide and roared, ROARRRR. Ducks waddled and quacked, turkeys gobbled, snakes slithered, and monkeys ran and jumped in the nearest trees they could find.”

“OK, OK daddy, but what about the rainbow?”

“Be still and listen.”

“The sky with its hues of blue and gray was clear. Noah, his wife, their sons and their wives, walked out into the sunlight and there stretched from one horizon to the other was a vibrant colored bow. They stood in awe as they beheld the beautiful colors displayed. Forty days and forty nights was a very long time to be in a dark, damp boat. It took a few minutes for their eyes to adjust.”

God spoke to Noah and said, “This is a sign to you and a promise that when I see my bow in the sky I will remember the tragedy of what happened to humankind and I will never destroy the world with water again.”

“So you see Timmy, when you see the rainbow it is a reminder that God loves us very much, it only comes out after it rains.”

Timmy said, “Oh, I understand now. God likes to play hide and seek. I’m going over to Billy’s house now, see ya later dad.” Timmy jumped off his dad’s lap and ran, skipping and jumping. He looked back at his dad and yelled, “I love you daddy! Thanks for telling me that story!”

Will looked up into the sky and said, “Thank you God for your promises, for loving us so much, and for my son. Amen!”

©11/10/2000