A Rare Phenomenon

A fire rainbow is a rare phenomenon that only occurs when the sun is higher than 58 degrees above the horizon.  The light passes through cirrus clouds made of ice crystals. So everything nature requires has to be in place in order for the stunning fire rainbow to make an appearance.

When I was young I drew rainbows all the time. On this particular day I had my pastels spread on the desk in my room at the Baptist Rehabilitation Center and I attempted to draw a rainbow.  Nothing happened. My hands just couldn’t hold the pastel. There was no rainbow on that day, not by my hand.

When I went to therapy that day I practiced writing my letters …. A, B, C, D, and on to Z.  It was a mess, like the lettering of a four-year old child. I wondered how I had lost so much of my daily functioning, something as basic as writing. But I had lost that ability, and it was a long road back.

In in a matter of days, I could write again. In weeks, drawing a rainbow was possible. It felt like a small miracle to me that rainbows were possible again. Who knows?  Someday I may even paint a fire rainbow. Thanks be to God, to so many friends who prayed for me, and to my very patient and relentless occupational therapist.