I had held it together. During the visitation, I had shed few tears for my father. It wasn’t that I didn’t love him it is just that I was ready to release him to God. His passing was something that was expected and I told him how much I valued and loved him when I had gone to see him earlier.

I was asked to write the obituary and was also chosen to give the tribute to him at his funeral. What a privilege that was. I think it went over pretty well and my mother said several people had commented on what a great job I had done on the obituary.

It was so nice to meet the business partners of my father. I had heard so many good things about them. Each one of them talked with me during the visitation and/or the funeral.

The day of the visitation it was pouring rain outside. It was kind of like God was crying for me. God usually makes it rain when I am having a hard time. It is kind of sweet how He always seems to be crying with me but I assured him I could handle this one without His crying. I couldn’t understand why it was raining because I was totally okay with God taking my dad to heaven.

The day after the funeral we had the burial, then the service and a lunch at the church. It was then that my middle son approached me and told me there had been a rainbow last night. The rainbow had started in the town where my dad was born.

I melted into a puddle of tears at that point. To think that I had not even considered that God was causing it to rain in order to produce a rainbow just blew me away. I was so touched by the love of God that I sobbed uncontrollably for quite a bit.

I think how many times in my life I am caught up in a storm, thrashing about with despair haunting me, and I fail to remember that without a storm there is never a rainbow. May I learn to be more focused on the rainbow instead of the storm.