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July 17, 2005
Sign of the Rainbow, July 17, 3 PM
as i was driving into atlanta, yesterday evening, there was truly the most beautiful and complete rainbow i have ever seen. as i approached the 285 bypass i realized that it was actually a double rainbow. it was a gift, in fact a double gift, reminding me of God's faithfulness to keep His promises. sometimes you don't realize what it is you need, or perhaps that you even have a need, until that need is fulfilled. for instances, many of the storms in life that we encounter, which seem to have no end in sight, and which also seem to be bringing with them complete desolation and destruction, without knowing God's promise to "never leave us or forsake us," what hope would we have in the midst of any of these circumstances, life threatening or otherwise? hope that life is not just a random set of circumstances, and we are nothing more than bright, shiny balls of existence being shot out into this world like balls being shot out of the chute in a pinball machine bouncing from here to there, and no matter how hard we try and keep ourselves in the game by keeping the game going, no matter how capable we think we are and, therefore, think we don't need help from anyone or anything, the ball will always, eventually, disappear into the outer darkness, taking us out of the game completely.
when God promised noah that he would never destroy mankind again by allowing it to rain for so long and so hard that the entire world would be flooded, he said that a rainbow in the sky after it rained would be for a sign to not only him, but for all of us, even today, that God will never break His promises to us. If God has not broken that promise that He made to Noah thousands of years ago, then why should I doubt Him for all of His other promises that He has made to us?
seeing that incredible rainbow, for me, after my family has found itself in the extreme circumstances it has since May 23rd, was perhaps, one of the most reassuring signs of God's love for me/us that He could possibly have shown me at a time when I needed to see it, be reassured of it, even though until it happened i wasn't even aware of how great my need was for it. Praise and Thanksgiving!
it has been so good to be with asher, gloria and hadrienne all of last night and today. it is amazing to me that the worries of tomorrow have been left behind in chattanooga, for now, and my attention has been able to be entirely on all of them. by my being here gloria was even able to get a break for part of the afternoon today. she and hadrienne went to the atlanta zoo with my step-sister, penny farr and her husband nelson.
having family in town, as well as not too far out-of-town has been a great blessing. in addition to penny and nelson, i also have a step-brother, richard danzig, his wife maureen, their two children, jack and matthew, and my aunt and uncle, catherine and harry davis, and their grown children, suzanne, alison and caty, who live in canton, georgia. they all have been such wonderful sources of support for us in ways that i am certain that they are not even aware of. we are so thankful to the Lord for blessing us with such a wonderful family here in atlanta.
Penny and nelson's church, grace united methodist, has also been amazing. a number of their members have come to visit as well as to provide us with meals. my aunt and uncle's church, new covenant bible church, has also provided a tremendous amount of support for us since we have been here in similar ways as well.
asher had an oddly restless day today. he seemed to be very uncomfortable most of the day and experiencing quite a bit of pain, particulary when he was in his wheel chair. in fact, when he was in his chair, he kept complaining that his head hurt, which is something he has not complained about before. so, both times he was in his chair was cut short and he had to be put back to bed and given more pain medicine. tomorrow will be back to his normal schedule as far as his therapy program is concerned. please pray he gets a good nights rest so that his day tomorrow will be as productive as possible. also pray for his attitude, that he will be motivated to work with his therapist. one final prayer request is for his short term memory to improve. right now he really remembers hardly anything from day to day. this continues to make it difficult for him to carry things from day to day that could provide him with some encouragement as far as the progress he is making is concerned.
my family and i continue to be extremely thankful for all of you and all of the comments many of you have posted which have been an encouragement to us going far beyond words.
resting in the reminder of God's promises through a rainbow,
andy mendonsa
| By Andy Mendonsa | 03:20 PM
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Comments
at 10:15 tonite, shirley posted a comment under yesterday's entry which expresses things i've heard from quite a number of people. many look forward to and are encouraged regularly by the asher updates. one of these days (probably not until history as we know it is wrapped up), it'll be most interesting to find out how many hundreds out here are pleading for mercy and grace on asher and the mendonsa family. may GOD continue to encourage you (and us thru you) with rainbows and other blessed indications of HIS presence and pleasure.
Posted by: grace at July 17, 2005 10:45 PM
Hi Andy,
I'm one of your neighbors (4812 Alabama). I just wanted to let you know I've held Asher and your family in my prayers since the accident. As I read your updates I continue to be amazed and inspired by your faith and thanksgiving for all miracles, large and small. A friend of mine recently wrote a song about how it's not from the mountaintops that our strength comes, but rather through the valleys where the victories are won. You and your family have certainly been through the valleys -- and obviously have been blessed with not only the strength necessary to get through each day, but also blessed with many victories with each passing day. I pray you and your family will continue to receive God's strength and blessings as Asher continues to recover.
If there is ever anything I can do to help any of you, or either of your parents, please call me 822-1166.
May God's peace be with you and his love sustain you.
Lynn
Posted by: Lynn Newell at July 19, 2005 02:48 PM
