The other day I was out for a walk and happened to see a rainbow.  It made me think about God’s love for us and the faithfulness of God’s covenant with us.  It made me think about something I had written some years back in my book, Soul Stretching: The Inner Landscape of an Ordinary Life.  In these days of the pandemic I think the message is still relevant, so I share it here, with some adaptation.

Anne Murray had a song, “Nobody Loves Me Like You Do” which spoke to me (at that time) of God’s covenant relationship with the people of the Old Testament, and right down to us today.  We are in pretty good company with people like Noah, Abraham, Ruth, Esther, and Isaiah.  All of them were in some sort of covenant relationship with God, and yet they all experienced doubts and difficulties in living out that covenant.  God gave Noah the sign of the rainbow to image it.

Anne Murray’s song resonates with the same theme:  Though we might feel lost and alone at times, there is someone who brings security to our lives, knows us better than we know ourselves, loves us through all our missteps–loves us like nobody else! 

We are all part of the spectrum of color making up the rainbow, yet in these days of the pandemic there are times when we feel broken, discouraged, frightened, anxious, alone and we can’t see clearly how this will all turn out.  But there are positive signs all around us if we but look.  God wants to give us new eyes to see and to empower us with hope.  Our world desperately needs that gift.  And in this time of crisis we have seen neighbors caring for each other, free concerts bringing music into our living rooms, signs and teddy bears and candles in our windows–all in attempts to reach out to others as we social distance ourselves.  The world has shifted, to be sure, but what we don’t quite know is, will it have shifted to a new place?  

To be a rainbow caller is to be someone who knows that God loves them like “nobody else” could.  To be a rainbow caller is to use our gifts and creativity to brighten our little corner of the earth.  As we celebrate Earth Day–its 50th anniversary today–perhaps we show reverence and respect for our planet by leaving a lightened footprint on it for future generations.  To be a rainbow caller is to know down deep that God is with us each step of the way, embracing and loving us–reminding us that we are all one sacred community.  

As Providence people I believe it is our call to be these rainbow callers, to remind people of God’s covenant with us, to remember that “Nobody Loves Me Like You Do”  is how God loves us.  Let’s be this rainbow caller of hope for the transformation of our world.  

Barbara McMullen, CDP