The Rainbow Connection

Why are there so many songs about rainbows
And what's on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions,
And rainbows have nothing to hide.
So we've been told and some choose to believe it
I know they're wrong, wait and see.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers and me.

Who said that every wish would be heard and answered
when wished on the morning star?
Somebody thought of that
and someone believed it,
and look what it's done so far.
What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing?
And what do we think we might see?
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
the lovers, the dreamers and me.

All of us under its spell,
we know that it's probably magic....

Have you been half asleep
and have you heard voices?
I've heard them calling my name.
Is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailors?
The voice might be one and the same.
I've heard it too many times to ignore it.
It's something that I'm supposed to be.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
the lovers, the dreamers and me.

Look Up

THE BUZZARD:

If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8
feet and is entirely open at the top, the
bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will
be an absolute prisoner. The reason is
That a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground
with a Run of 10 to 12 feet. Without space
to run, as is its habit, It will not even
attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner
for life in a small jail with no top.


THE BAT:

The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a
remarkable nimble creature in the air,
cannot take off from a level place.
If it is placed on the floor or flat
ground, all it can do is shuffle about
helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it
reaches some slight elevation from which it can
throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it
takes off like a flash.

THE BUMBLEBEE:

A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will
be there until it dies, unless it is taken out.
It never sees the means of escape at the
top, but persists in trying to find some way out
through the sides near the bottom.. It
will seek a way where none exists, until it
completely destroys itself..

PEOPLE:

In many ways, we are like the buzzard, the bat, and
the bumblebee. We struggle about with all our
problems and frustrations, never realizing that
all we have to do is look up! That's the
Answer, the escape route and the solution to any problem! Just look up.

Sorrow looks back, Worry looks around, But faith looks up!

Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly and
trust in our Creator who loves us.

 

Belief

There is a simple reason as to why magical things happen.  They happen because we believe magical things can happen.  Belief in the unbelievable can emerge from the most cynical of people if it follows a progression.  Abraham received the word that he was going to receive a child.  That was he seed planted by God.  Before this, Abraham had made a son out of a steward.  In Abraham’s mind, this was a done deal.  There was no need in begging whatever god he served in Ur for what was not going to happen.  He and Sarai were already old.  What was the possibility that something truly wonderful and fulfilling happening to him in his old age. God then comes and plants a seed.  The seed takes root and it is something that drives Abraham to do the unthinkable.  He jumps up and leaves everyone he knows and strikes out for a place with no destination.  He goes based on the belief, that God will give him something magical and wonderful in due season.  Beliefs begin as seeds until they grow being watered by bits of evidence you collect along the way until it becomes an unmovable solid thing.  It’s roots are so deep in your mind that no matter how you try to root it out and rebuke it to hell, it stays.  I often have had those moments.  I had no other aspiration in life other than to get a job and live in the “white folks” neighborhood.  I did not strike out to become what I have become.  Along the way, someone came along and planted a seed.  That seed, I could not shake.  I have tried to walk away and act like it was all a figment of my imagination, but it did not work.  It is here and whether it is fulfilled or not, it won’t move.  Maybe that is what God wanted in the first place.

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The Rainbow Connection, The Swamp

This song was written for the “Muppet Movie” in 1979 and it conveys a feeling of destiny, but it does not start that way.  He is singing this song with a banjo in a swamp.  None of what he desires, exist in the swamp.  It is a lonely place, not because there are no other animals there, but because there is no one else like him.  He has dreams that are different than your normal ordinary frog.  He begins to sing about rainbows being visions, but only illusions not understanding that he is in the place where a rainbow is the likely thing to happen.  Rainbows need water and sunshine and air.  Add in some greenery and you are in a swamp.  The greenery sustains you in this wonderful atmosphere that many would call a “hot mess”.  Make you wonder why God would choose this type of climate to perform the greatest of miracles.  Kermit says, “Someday we will find it, the rainbow connection”.  The rainbow connection is from the old myth that if you see a rainbow and follow it to the end, there is something wonderful like a pot of gold.  It represents the optimism in life that if I keep searching and keep looking that something truly wonderful is at the end of the journey.  Lovers receive their loved ones, dreamers realize their dreams and me, I receive the just fruits of my labor of loving and waiting and looking.  The rainbow connection is the manifestation of a longing finally fulfilled.

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Eternal optimist

Children are eternal optimist.  It doesn’t matter if you tell them that you know for sure that Santa is not real, they still believe it anyway.  I have seen it happen time after time at the onset of puberty.  They look around and see that the life they wanted to live is not the life that was handed to them.  The surliness that sours the attitude becomes contagious and infectious and life takes on a different meaning.  They dress in black, read sad poems and listen to sad songs trying to express the depression that sets after the bubble is broken.  Jesus said that we have to remain little children.  Why?  Because he really can leap tall buildings in a single bound, he really is faster than a speeding bullet and he truly is stronger than a locomotive.  He possesses super powers, he is unique and special.  He can do the unusual and we should not forget it.  Cynical adults may sit you down to tell you about the facts of life, but stop them with they begin to say what God can and cannot do.  The “cannot “ part only refers to sinning and lying.  Everything else is fair game.

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Pain killer

The day after my birthday, the world lost one of the greatest voices to reign in the pop arena.  The details of her death are still sketchy and I just hope that there was no foul play.  It brings to light the subject of dysfunction and the knowledge that money and fame only deal with the outside of a person.  It does not do deal with the inside of a person.  When I was younger, I did not understand self destructive behavior.  It took me a minute to realize that failure is not a goal, it is simply  and outcome.  People don’t sit down and decide to become drug addicts and alcoholics.  They participate in the activity for another purpose and addiction is the by product.  Alcohol and drugs are basically pain killers.  They momentarily make you feel good about your life.  They calm the anxiety and ease the inhibitions.  You talk better when you are high, you feel good about your life when you are high, and you don’t have to face reality when you are high.  That is the attraction of addiction.  It makes you feel better and people like feeling better at any cost.  Now this is where I introduce Jesus, because Jesus truly takes away the pain.  He deals with the pain from the point of where the pain started.  When he is done, the by product of his love, is that you can talk about the pain, you can teach about the pain, but you are no longer in pain.  You can sit and spill your guts in your ministry groups and at some point, bust out laughing.  Yes, I have laughed at what I used to cry at.  I don’t cry anymore, because there is no more pain.

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The way of the snake upon the stone

I received a great Christmas gift from one of my students.  It was a small amethyst stone with a snake on it.  There is a scripture in the Bible that speaks of the snake upon the stone.  You see, when a snake is in the sand or the dirt, he leaves his imprint.  The sand bears witness that the snake was there.  The stone does not bear witness that the snake was ever there.  The snake can lay on the stone, bite the stone and crawl on the stone, but when he gets done, you will not be able to tell.  That is how I feel about victimization.  I prayed that God deal with me so good, that no one would ever know what I went to.  He hid the dysfunction so well, that many people have to ask me because I don't carry myself like what I went through.  It was never my intention to look like what I been through.  I don't mind that people think I am rich or that they think my life was easy.  I had no intention of letting them in on my dark places.  Those places are private and the door is shut.  I have found that you can't heal with the door open.  Sometimes, you have to stop feeding the thought of the issue as well as the issue.  I hope you pray that you find a way to get in touch with the Lord and tell him to fix you so good, you won't be able to tell that you were broke.

He Knows

Today, I found myself just overwhelmed by a schedule that just would not end.  It was not a bad day, it just was a busy day.  As a matter of fact, it is a busy time.  It was busy in the natural and busy in the spirit.  I just realized that all the time that God was being silent in my world, he was working overtime somewhere else and that somewhere else is having a great affect on me now.  Just when I get a feeling like settling into where I am, he tells me that there is something coming over the horizon.  When I look, he has not lied.  You can never underestimate God.  You simply have to follow him and keep following even if you have no clue where you are going to end up.  We have to realize that God works from the end to the beginning.  He already knows the next step you are going to take and the next step after that.  He understands that you are completely ignorant unless he reveals it to you.  The problem is that revealing it to us may mess up the plan.  Instead, he gives us a calm reassurance that he is conducting the train and it will reach it's destination.