I kept just one memento from my former job: a plexiglas award from 2002 for Outstanding Finance Team Member. Wow. I hope you are duly impressed.
At the office, the trophy sat in a large East-facing window. The morning light, having been bent twice by the prism edges, dispersed rainbows in various spots throughout my office on any sunny morning.
When people attended meetings in my office, sometimes a rainbow would appear on a face, as if the grownup involved had just sat for a face-painting session.
I will admit I secretly took great pleasure when my unwitting “victim” was a gentleman who played the office tough-guy role. Tip: It’s not easy to intimidate a woman who’s watching a rainbow dance across your nose.
If the rainbow showed up on the carpet as someone walked into my office, I shouted, “Don’t step on the rainbow!” They’d jump back, look at the floor, then at me. Some appeared sheepish, as in, “You got me!” But sometimes the look clearly said, “The stress has finally caused her to crack.” Ah yes, I loved to keep them guessing.
At home I already treasured my indoor rainbows cast by a large stained glass piece hanging in an upper hall window. Where they appear depends on the time of day and the season. They are stealth rainbows. I turn the corner and there one is. They last for just a few moments, depending on the angle of the sun and the cloud condition of the sky. The brightness can diminish or intensify quickly as seen in the two photos below taken about ten seconds apart.
So I wasn’t about to dispose of my office rainbow maker. But neither did I want an old award sitting around. I affixed a beautiful card front to each of the two sides. The writing is covered, but the prisms at top and bottom remain open to catch the rays.
Every so often when a rainbow shows its presence, I’ll snap a photo and send to my best friend with a tagline of simply, “Rainbow of the day.” Isn’t it cool that technology enables quick and easy sharing of simple joys?
A rainbow in the sky is a sign marking a covenant God made with us. My house rainbows remind me that God’s blessings are new each day.
Catch the tiny rainbow on the angel’s shadow in the photo below.
And in case you’re wondering what’s written on the angel’s skirt, it’s this:
Perhaps they are not stars in the sky, but rather openings where our loved ones shine down to let us know they are happy.
I’m counting that as a blessing within a blessing!
To my readers: What simple joy fills you with happiness?
Thank you for including me again in one of your blogs. Having you as my best friend definitely fills me with JOY! Something else that gives me joy in my life is sitting on my back porch and watching what goes on in our little neighborhood, which is usually very quiet. I enjoy that solitude which gives me a chance to watch whichever of God’s creatures may come into view. Sometimes I see birds, either in the sky or on the ground, and wonder what they might be thinking and where their lives take them. Often now there are butterflies which hover around our neighbor’s butterfly bush, which has grown to be beautiful after it sprouted on its own on a pile of rubbish. Oftentimes our two cats, Fred and Ginger, sit there with me. As I look at the trees on the ridges which line up against our little town, I often wonder what life was like for those who lived here 100, 200, or even more years ago and think I might have liked to be alive then. This is just a quiet time that allows me to relax and enjoy the simplicity that exists in our world, at least temporarily forgetting the hectic activity which is sometimes what could be considered a normal part of life in this century.
Thanks for sharing that Zen=like moment. I feel refreshed!