Circle Rainbows

A Rainbow Story

Rainbows have always been symbols of hope and promise from God. But my thoughts were not of rainbows as I sat on a plane at the Orlando International Airport, waiting to fly to Charleston, West Virginia. With a heavy heart and some apprehension, I stared out the plane’s window as a light rain fell.

The heaviness of my heart could be attributed to the death of my husband three years earlier. John and I had a marriage that lasted thirty-nine years. I was cherished by my husband. He was the father of my children, and I loved him. He died so suddenly that it left me devastated and empty. Now I was flying alone to West Virginia, where John's brother, Bill, lay dying. Their eighty-eight-year-old mother was losing her second son, the last of her children. My heart ached for her as I dealt with my own lingering loneliness and grief.

I was apprehensive about traveling alone for the first time since becoming a widow, about changing planes in Charlotte and flying into Charleston on a small commuter plane. I knew about that small Charleston airport. The top had been cut off a mountain to build it, and you seemed to be flying into treetops when you landed.

Please, God, give me Your perfect peace for this trip and for my life. Take away this loneliness, I prayed silently. Second Timothy 1:7 kept running through my mind: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

Suddenly, the sun broke through the clouds, and a perfect rainbow formed. Then a second formed above it. A double rainbow, a double blessing! God’s peace flooded into my spirit.

The plane taxied and turned until I could no longer see the rainbows. Then, as the plane took off and broke through the clouds, I glanced out the window again and beheld a wondrous sight. The double rainbow had formed a perfect circle, and our plane was flying through it. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! I looked around to see if anyone had noticed my audible cry of delight. The passengers around me sat with their headphones and magazines, unaware of the phenomenon taking place outside the window. Had God provided this awesome wonder just for me? For the remainder of the trip, I basked in God’s love and security, enjoying His presence and knowing how much He cares for each of us.

On arriving in Charlotte, I found my way to the Comair terminal. It was dark and raining outside as seas of Thanksgiving travelers waited to board many small commuter planes. There were no empty seats in the waiting area. I stood for a while, leaning against a concrete pillar.

Finally, I spotted a chair beside a striking blonde woman. As I sat beside her, she asked if I was going to Charleston. She was from California and was going home to be with her sister for Thanksgiving. She told me that as a child growing up in the West Virginia hills, she suffered from poverty and insecurity. Her parents divorced, and while she was growing up in a single parent home she shared the little the family had with a multitude of siblings. Since leaving West Virginia, she had married a very rich man who met her every material need. She revealed she was recently widowed and so lonely and frightened. She had loved her husband very much, and his death left a big hole in her life.

I shared the rainbow story and how God had used that awesome sight to reassure me of His abiding love and presence. As we boarded the plane, we asked to trade seats with a young man, so we could sit together and continue our conversation. Before we knew it, we had successfully landed at that tiny mountaintop airport in Charleston.

The most amazing part of this encounter was that our sisters were waiting together at the terminal. Even more amazing was that they knew each other. Was this a mere coincidence? I don’t think so. Truly, our Lord orchestrated this rainbow story. We all laughed, hugged, and promised to meet again.

While in West Virginia, I shared the story with my family. My dying brother-in-law, Bill, listened to the story and found a new peace. I asked my sisters if they thought God put the rainbows there to reassure me of His love. My sisters told me I should ask a pilot if rainbows make circles when viewed from the air. A pilot would know if this were true. I had never met a pilot.

My rainbow story did not end there in West Virginia. Back in Florida two weeks later (December 10, 1999), as I was greeting folks at my church on Sunday morning, I directed a very handsome and distinguished gentleman to our Christmas cantata. After church, we chatted and discovered his son and my son lived five miles south of our town on the same graveled road. Coincidence? There are no coincidences with God.

This distinguished gentleman shared that he was a widower and asked me to lunch. I asked his occupation, and yes, he was a retired airline pilot. Of course my next question was, “Do rainbows become complete circles when you are airborne?” My new friend assured me they do. I am also assured I serve a living God, who loves me enough to take away the fear and loneliness and to give me circle rainbows and airline pilots when I need them most.

The former airline pilot who entered my life was a kind and gentle man of integrity. I am convinced he was a special gift from God. He filled my life with a new joy. That airline captain was Charles Pickard, who became my husband on September 7, 2001.

I believe the Lord orchestrated this rainbow story just as He has directed my entire life.