Prayers, promises and one big rainbow

published May 12, 2011

in the Stockton Sentinel

Stockton, Kansas

It’s been way too long since we’ve had a good spring thunderstorm. Fortunately my memory is still    good enough to remember what they are like. Generally, I love a good, loud thunderstorm as long as it doesn’t turn violent or produce more rain than we need; I guess I’m kind of picky. But what I love most about thunderstorms is the rainbow, if one appears. This is the story of the rainbow that brought us to Stockton. It’s a deeply personal story that not many people know, but I would like to use this opportunity to share it with you.

But before I tell you about the rainbow, I have to preface the story with what happened before the rainbow. To do that, I have to tell you that I did not want to move to Stockton. Nothing personal against the town or anyone here that I hadn’t met yet – I didn’t want to move. Period. It was a difficult time for my husband and me. Mostly, I made it difficult for him. I was employed by a prestigious law firm in McPherson, doing a job that I loved more than any other job I had ever had. We were living within 30 minutes of my parents and our home town, and we were once again attending our home church. I. Was. Not. Moving.

My husband, although he didn’t want to hurt me, was not happy in his middle school principalship and really wanted a high school position. While he was applying and interviewing, I was in denial. We were both in prayer and then in counseling with our pastor. It was the most difficult time of our married life. I was desperately torn between what my husband wanted and what I wanted, and it was the most unfamiliar territory we had ever walked through. Fortunately, we were not walking alone, because not only were we praying about it, but our family and friends were praying for us.

When the opportunity came to apply for a principal position at Stockton High School, my husband dangled a carrot in front of me about how this location would be closer to our sons and their families (particularly, our granddaughters), but even that did not immediately sway me from my own position. However, by the time he was called to Stockton for an interview, I was coming to peace with the whole idea, trying to be open-minded with a “possibility” that we would be moving somewhere, we just didn’t know where. God was at work and softened my heart and my stubborn will enough that I accompanied him to the interview at Stockton. That was a first; I had not gone with him on two previous interviews.

And so we made our way to Stockton for the first time. Even though we had been through Stockton many times on trips from Mankato to Hays, this was different. This was an intentional visit, a potentially life-changing trip. That was three years ago at this same time of the year.

The closer we got to Hays that afternoon, the butterflies churned within us both, and dark clouds churned above us as we headed into a spring storm. It rained hard after we turned north at the Hays exit, and at one point, the wind was blowing so hard, it was raining horizontally. (What we didn’t know was that just the week before, those of you here in Rooks County had endured several severe storms and incurred substantial hail damage.) By the time we got to town early that evening, the storm had moved on to the east and the rain had subsided.

Greeting us at the USD office, among board members and others, were Chris and Ginger Kollman, who had been asked to drive us around and give us a tour of the town. They were gracious hosts, and drove us all around town, taking us past the few houses that were for sale at the time. As we headed south on Gracie, just as we arrived at the north end of the school property, we turned to face a very vivid, full rainbow hanging in the eastern sky. It fully encompassed the school buildings in a complete arc. The four of us commented about the beautiful rainbow, even jokingly saying something about it being a good sign. But it was not a joke to me, nor did I take it lightly. I couldn’t take my eyes off of that rainbow, and it stayed etched in my mind. I knew this was no coincidence. We were meant to see that rainbow; it was placed in the sky for us to see that night. And Chris, our driver, was unknowingly supposed to have us at that street corner in town at that very moment. I didn’t doubt it then nor at any time since. It was about as subtle as a brick to the head.

It’s not very often that God delivers such obvious answers to our prayers. And although the entire process of interviewing, waiting, decision-making, and eventually relocating was still difficult, we both carried the image of the rainbow in our memories, strengthened by the assurance that we were not in this alone.

These days, everyone would love to see a rainbow, especially if it meant we had just received a good rain. For my husband and me, we will always love the sight of a rainbow and remember its special significance on that May night in 2008. I’m just glad God chose a rainbow to get His point across, instead of a brick.