DOUBLE RAINBOW

Look upon the rainbow, and praise Him that made it;
very beautiful it is in the brightness thereof.
~Ecclesiastes 43:11

This photo was taken late yesterday afternoon as I stood out on our deck.   Notice the dark band between the two bows.  That's known as Alexander's Band, after Alexander of Aphrodisias, who first described it in 200 AD.  

The secondary rainbow is lighter in color.  Interestingly, the colors are reversed in that second one.  Some Eastern cultures believe that the primary rainbow represents the physical world, and the secondary rainbow represents the harder-to-see spiritual world.  A rainbow is a blend of seven colors--red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. The Sun must be behind you and the clouds cleared away from the Sun for the rainbow to appear. A rainbow requires water droplets to be floating in the air.  That's why we see them right after it rains.   The sunlight shines on a water droplet.  As the light passes into the raindrop, the light bends, or refracts.  Due to the slow down of light, white light gets dispersed into seven colors. 

Seeing a rainbow reminds us that even in the most ordinary of moments, there are extraordinary moments when something as beautiful as a double rainbow appears in front of our eyes.  More than anything, maybe a rainbow is a reassurance from a Force Beyond Our Understanding that we're not the ones in charge and that everything will be okay.

Whenever I see a rainbow, I think of the Bible.  In Genesis 9:16, "I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the COVENANT between me and the earth.  I will remember the COVENANT between me and you and all living creatures of every kind."  In Judaism and Christianity, the rainbow is associated with God's protection.  It is a sign of God's promise that He will never destroy the earth again by a flood.

I'm continually inspired by nature,

and the rainbow is one of nature's greatest optical phenomenon. 

  The sighting of a rainbow

never fails to bring a smile to people's faces.  

They signify optimism and positivity~

with them comes the sunshine after the rain.  

~Matthew Williamson