The stunning rainbow God painted this week made me think of this story I wrote for the "Wow" challenge topic at FaithWriters. I've done a little tweaking - hopefully I helped it instead of hurting it. Enjoy!
GENESIS: MORNING HAS BROKEN ME
"Mommy, come look!" Bounce. "You gotta come see." Bounce bounce. "Come on Mommy, get up!" bounce, "get up!" bounce, "get up!"
Grrr. Seriously, God? My grand plan to sleep in on my Saturday off has been thwarted. My exuberant five-year old is causing a small earthquake in the region of Ma Bedville.
I yank the covers over my head and growl for real. "What little Bear is bouncing on Mamma Bear's bed?" My attempt at a ferocious roar is cut short by a squealing, 24-pound Beatrice plopping on top of me.
"Momm-MMY! Come ON!" She yanks at the covers, starting a wrestling match that, of course, I let my Beatle-Bear win. How can I not? Losing means I get to harvest joy from looking at those big brown eyes swimming inside her swarming halo of golden tresses.
"Whyyyy?" I whine, "I don't wanna get up. Come on, snuggle with me, Beatle-Bear." I try to pull her into a spoon, but she won't have it.
"No, Mommy, you gotta come see. It’s a wow!"
She bounces off of me and out of the bed and tugs on my hand. I tumble after her with a flop and let her drag me to her room. She prances to the window and jabs her finger at the glass. "See? See the wow?"
I stand beside her and gaze out at the new morning. The sun has just peeped over the trees, painting a pastel backdrop on the sky, and dew sparkles like a web of diamonds spun over creation. God had, indeed, painted a wow.
I rnn my hand over her tousled hair. "Thank you for showing me the sunrise, Beatrice. That's a pretty good wow." I bend down and kiss on top of her head, stifling a yawn.
"NO, Mommy, over there. See?" She’s jumping up and down and pointing across me, to the right.
I sidle over to stand behind her so I can see what her pudgy little finger is pointing at.
"See the wow?"
"Oh, wow! Yeah, Bea-Bea, now I do."
I pull her warm little body into my arms and stand hypnotized by the sight. A dancing prism of color spans the dew-bejeweled trees at the side of the yard, creating a glittering rainbow across windbreak.
My little Beatle-Bear spins around and turns her face up to mine. "You always show me the wows, Mommy. An' I wanted to show you this time, kay?"
She grabs my hand again, spins around, and points out the window. "Wow! It's the raimbow of God's promise." She turns back and looks up at me. "Now, I'm gonna pray just like you do, 'kay? Bow your head, Mommy." She takes my other hand and watches to make sure I obey.
Tears drip onto the front of my rumpled sleepshirt as my little one leads me in prayer.
"Dear God, Thank you for wows. Thank you for raimbows and for promises and for loving us. Thank you for Mommy. Please tell Daddy I love him. And thank you for Jesus. Amen."
Wow, God. I snuffle in and swallow. That's my girl. That's Your girl. Thank you.
I squeeze her hands. "Dear God, Thank you painting beautiful sunrises and rainbows for us, because sometimes we need a wow to remind us how very much you love us. Thank you for Beatrice, God, my precious little Beatle-Bear. Please take care of Daddy. And thank you for Jesus and for our home with You in Heaven, the forever treasure at the end of your rainbow. Amen."
"Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth." Genesis 9:16 (NIV)
© 2010
Our host for Friday Fiction today is Rick Higginson (Hoomi) at Pod Tales and Ponderings. Add a link to your own fiction (after reading his story, of course), or just follow the links and read along. Don't forget to leave an encouraging word to let the writers know you are reading!
Catrina Bradley
"God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes."
Psalm 18:24
