Of Rainbows and Work and Sunday School

It's been a long several weeks at work. I've been getting all my annual evaluations done, even though they're not due until Oct. 1. In light of all the uncertainties, it seems wise to get them done.


Our annual review process involves observing the faculty member teaching a class, preparation of lots of paperwork in advance of the annual reivew process, a meeting with the worker who's being evaluated, then more paperwork and some electronic forms and then the copying and the filing. August and September were already going to be busy months for me, as half of my department has a hire date of Oct. 1. With all the other disruptions, it's even more hectic this year.

Wednesday evening, thunderstorms rumbled through. My office is close to an outdoor patio, and I sometimes go outside, just to take a break from staring at screens. It's a fairly protected space; last night, I stepped outside to see what the weather was doing.

I turned to go inside, and part of my brain said, "Wait! Is that a rainbow?"

I turned back and scanned the sky. Sure enough, a rainbow!

My rational brain knows that rainbows are a result of water droplets and light fracturing into colors of the spectrum.

My optimistic brain sees a rainbow as a good sign. I remember all those Sunday School lessons that presented rainbows as a symbol of God's grace, a promise that we're protected.

For those of you preparing to teach your Sunday School classes and wondering if your students will retain anything that you teach them, I assure you that they will.  We can't always anticipate what our students will hang onto, of course.  But something will stick with them throughout adulthood.

I'm grateful that I don't see rainbows as a simple trick of light and water.  I'm grateful to be surrounded by evidence of a carefully constructed planet, a creation full of signs and wonders.