Double Rainbows, Rising Moons, and Shooting Stars

Last week was a week of rainbows.  On Thursday, I saw a rainbow as I left work, and then on Friday, we saw a double rainbow as we drove around Jacksonville, Florida.

Here's a picture of a past double rainbow, for your Friday viewing pleasure:

My rational brain knows that rainbows are a trick of light and refraction.  My inspiration brain says, "Wow!  What a cool sight!"  And then, as I've written before, there's my theological mind that sees the rainbow as a sign of God's promise.

The world is full of reminders of God's promise.  On Wednesday, I got up very early to drive south.  The moon was just rising and huge.  It was a waning moon, so it hung low on the horizon, the crescent a pumpkin orange.  Imagine just a sliver of this moon:

Again, I was enchanted--and grateful that there wasn't much traffic, because I kept wanting to gaze at the moon.  We think of the full moon as having that bewitching power, but the crescent moon has a pull too.

As I drove through the dark, I saw not one, but 2 shooting stars.  I made a wish, as I have been trained to do since childhood.  My brain said, "A beautiful moon and two shooting stars--they must be portents of good things to come."

Leftover impulses from a more superstitious time of human history?  Willingness to be enchanted?

I think of my impulse to pray, which my more scientific friends might dismiss as fanciful as much as I dismiss my impulse to wish upon a star, shooting or otherwise.  But I make my wishes known to God--and to my spouse, my friends, anyone who will listen.

I want to be more present, more attuned to all the ways that the world shows us the presence of a caring creator.  Double rainbows, rising moons, and shooting stars are very flashy ways to get my attention.  I want to also see the subtle signs.