The Bow in the Cloud

 

There was a double rainbow on Wednesday, arching from sea to land. You can see a glimpse of the double bow in Captain B's photo.  And the Moonpenny daisies are out everywhere now, lining the roads as we drove to Worthing for my latest hospital appointment.  All went OK.  But but but - how many more times am I going to see the splendid flowers of May?

Of course, if I inherit the earth, as Jesus promised, I will never have to leave them behind. But that remains to be seen. It is not in my power to grant.  As things are now, I have very few Springs left - if any more at all.  I have to keep reminding myself that, at my advanced age, I can't expect to feel wonderful, and just to be grateful still to be here.

The first Biblical reference to a rainbow is in the account of the covenant God made with Noah and his offspring after the Flood survivors came out of the ark.  (Genesis 9:8-17)  This splendid sight of itself would have been reassuring and an indication of peace to Noah and his family.

But of course the ransom and the rule of the heavenly government, the Kingdom of God, were still centuries away.  So rather than peace on earth we have - well, watch any episode of the News.

And here is a strange and startling headline from today. Rioting over a watch...  ?

From the online Daily Mail today, under the heading SWATCH STAMPEDES:

Violent scenes erupted across Britain, Europe and the US this weekend after the launch of Swatch's latest limited-edition watch - sparking overnight queues, mass crowd surges and police interventions. Thousands of desperate shoppers camped outside stores for days in the hope of securing one of the £335 'Royal Pop' watches - a collaboration between Swatch and luxury brand Audemars Piguet. But the frenzy quickly descended into chaos, with fights breaking out, police dog units deployed and stores forced to shut their doors after crowds overwhelmed security staff.

https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15825625/brawls-globe-WATCH-Violent-scenes-Europe-UK-US-Swatch.html

That is so sad - if true - and the photos do look distressing.  But it reminds me of an expression the Bible uses:

Do not love either the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him; because everything in the world—the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the showy display of one’s means of life—does not originate with the Father, but originates with the world. - 1 John 2:15.16

The phrase the showy display of one's means of life seems to describe the Designer Label culture very well.

There was a first for our Moth Hotel when we checked the guests out this morning.  We had a pair of honeymooners - two Shuttle-shaped Darts, clearly very much in love.  I hope life goes well for them, and their many children.