Shocked to see a blog from Roses in the Rubble? Me too! Blogger Virginia has been off the posting grid for MANY MONTHS.  Yes, it’s already the 2nd Sunday of Advent so making that previous post-a-day Advent goal is bust.  But hey, a week late, and here we are.

My brother, Dwight, & I returned last week from a 10 day visit to Florida – 7 nites in New Smyrna Beach, 3 nites in St. Augustine.  Last year we missed Papa at Thanksgiving and Christmas, but we had Mama.  This year we miss them both so much!!

So, we celebrated Thanksgiving on the beach (literally.) As we sat in our comfy beach chairs recovering from a jam packed excursion to Epcot (where we had suitably celebrated Thanksgiving with an amazing 2 hour 5-star lunch the day before!) I was thinking about Mama & Papa when Dwight said, “Look!”

“A RAINBOW ON THANKSGIVING!”

We whipped out our handy iPhones to capture the moment, but even now it doesn’t capture how special we felt. Dwight said he had been thinking about Mama & Papa, too. Then, there’s this gorgeous rainbow.  In Florida… on an almost-deserted Apollo Beach.

To me, rainbows are about hope. Isn’t that kinda what Advent is about? Faith (obviously) and hope, because as the author of Hebrews reminds us, “faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we cannot see.”

So, my question this Advent, what are we hoping for this year?  In the deepest core of our hearts, in the corners, are we ready?

Closing with the words from a famous hymn we sang to Mama in June during her last week with us:

“Be still, my soul! Thy God doth undertake

To Guide the future, as He has the past:

Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake,

All now mysterious shall be bright at last.”

(by J. Borthwick)

grace, peace & hope-filled rainbows

Virginia