Celebrating the Rainbow of Life

Team Erin - Before the Color Run

Last week a team from my church, St. Mark's, walked/ran in the Color Run in Buffalo. Our team name was Team Erin in honor of one of our parishioners battling lymphoma. I am happy to report this was a celebration of Erin's recovery and her husband and six year old daughter were part of the team. Our team had members 2 years old through 70 years old.

It occurred to me as we were standing among about 10,000 people waiting for the race - really 5K fun run - to start that the whole thing is a party. It's a celebration of life and what better way to celebrate life than with color! The organizers do a great job of creating and maintaining the party atmosphere from the starting chute through the finish line and beyond. You can't help but be happy, thus the title "The Happiest 5K on the Planet."

After the Color Run

We started out with white shirts and ended covered in color. After running through a rainbow of color, I started to think about rainbows and God's promise. God promised Noah that He would never destroy the earth again. As a reminder of that promise God gave us the rainbow. The promise is more than just a pretty splash of color in the sky; its that God will not desert us, that the rain will end.

Have you ever stopped to really think about that promise? No matter how bad or how long the rain lasts, God is there and we will see that beautiful rainbow. There may be lightening and thunder, but it will end and there will be beauty at the end. It may seem like we are all alone, that only ugliness surrounds us but we have God's promise. God says "hold on, the rainbow is coming!"

In order to see the rainbow and enjoy the colors, we must go through the rain. There is no rainbow, no color, without the rain. We see the colors because the water disperses the light to create the rainbow. I think the rainbow is worth it. I'll go through the rain for the opportunity to see all the colors!  I'm choosing to celebrate life with the knowledge that the rainbow is there, even if I can't see it yet.

The Ultimate Trust Fall

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 

Hebrews 11:1(NIV)

Recently my daughter, Cassie, and I did a ropes course that included a giant swing. I was nervous, but decided to go for it. I wore a harness that went between my legs, up my back, over my shoulders and hooked in the front with big clips; it was clearly designed to support my weight and I knew that it was safe. A life-supporting rope was attached to the harness with a large clip that was locked onto a D-ring. The rope was attached to another life-supporting rope that I would swing from.

The scary part was sitting on the platform and having the staff member tell me to just lean to my left and "fall" off the platform. I just sat there for a minute. She told me to take my time and said a couple of times, "it's okay; whenever you're ready." My response was "uh-huh." Finally, I decided I needed to just take the fall or get up and chicken out. So, I leaned over and "fell" off the platform. Of course, I didn't fall to the ground, the rope stopped me and sent my swinging up one side and then up the other. 

Cassie later compared it to a trust fall. You know, stand with your back to someone and just fall back and trust they will catch you. It's scary, but it builds trust in relationships. I thought, yes that was the ultimate trust fall. If someone doesn't catch me, I only fall back on my rump from where I stand; if the harness failed I would have fallen about two-stories to the ground. Ouch!

Since then I've been thinking that the ultimate trust fall is not on a ropes course, but faith in Jesus. It is scary to "take the leap", we don't know what will happen or how are lives will be changed. But it is guaranteed our lives will be changed! Just like the safety equipment at the ropes course, there is safety in God. I think God is the big rope that supports the whole thing. Jesus is the rope that connects us to the big rope and the Holy Spirit is the harness, holding us together and up. I can almost hear the reassurances from the Holy Spirit, "it's okay, we've got you; take your time; whenever you're ready." 

I must choose to fall off the platform or turn back. God will accept either choice, but the Holy Spirit is there to give me the courage to fall. God is always patiently waiting for me to decide, but once I fall, God lifts me up and gives me the ride of my life. It just takes trust!

Faith is not a blind leap any more than my fall off the platform was a foolish, uncertain fall. Faith is trusting that you will be held-up; knowing that the harness and ropes are life-supporting. It's a bit scary and sometimes the movement is jerky, but you know that you won't fall. You know that you are safe.

Each time we decide to obey God and follow Jesus, we perform the ultimate trust fall. But unlike doing it with a human partner, we know that God will always catch us. And just like that fall where we can't see our partner, but we know he or she is there we know that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are there to catch us. Not only will they catch us, but they will lift us up so that we can soar!