“Look, a rainbow!”

I can’t think of anyone who would murmur, “Okay, whatever, let me just finish paying the bills, and then I’ll have a look.” No, we rush to the window, or step outside, scan the sky, and point excitedly so no one else misses it.

Rainbows are fleeting, drawing us out of our worries, lists, and distractions and placing us firmly in the moment. We grow still and stand in awe and wonder. There is something mysterious about rainbows, a sense that God has brushed color across the sky to remind us He is there.

There are a multitude sayings, songs and legends about rainbows. We talk about “somewhere over the rainbow” and the green leprechaun’s “pot of gold” at the end. We spend so much of our lives looking ahead, searching for the next thing, chasing something new, and dreaming of what lies beyond the horizon. We tell ourselves that happiness is somewhere else, just over the rainbow, just beyond our reach.

But what about inside the rainbow?

The science behind rainbows begins in the meeting of light and water. Sunlight enters tiny droplets of water in the air and is bent, reflected, and separated as it passes through them. In that movement of light, colors that were already present are made visible.

Rainbows appear in many forms. There are the bright primary rainbows with their bands of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. If we are lucky, we see a double rainbow, in which a second arc appears beyond the first, with the colors reversed. Scientists also tell us that the sky inside a rainbow is brighter than the sky outside it.

But rainbows don’t only belong to dramatic skies after heavy rain. There are white moonbows, a rare phenomenon, and even fogbows, soft and ghostly. Rainbows can also appear in the spray from a garden hose, in the mist of a great waterfall, above a fountain in the park, in sea spray, or in the fine droplets left behind by a lawn sprinkler on a sunny day.

Yes, God is there, wielding His paintbrush in all kinds of weather, day and night, and not reserved for rare occasions.

Did you know that rainbows are actually full circles? From the ground we usually only see one part of the arc. We can only see the complete circle from a plane flying at high altitudes. But often our attention is focused on the choices offered by the passing beverage cart during that long flight, and we forget to look out the airplane window.

Isn’t that true of God, too? We only see a fraction of His plan and a small arc of His love, while all the time He is surrounding us completely. But we don’t take time to look out the window.

What if we stopped thinking about what is at the end of the rainbow or beyond it? What if, instead, we thought about being inside the rainbow? What would it feel like to be completely immersed in it, to stand not at the edge of God’s love, but right in the middle of it?

The air might feel soft and cool against our skin, like the moment after rain, when the world is quiet and washed clean. Tiny drops of mist might touch our faces as sunlight breaks through the clouds, and we may hear the faint sound of waves, birds, or leaves rustling in the breeze. It may smell like salt from the sea, damp grass, rain, wildflowers, or summer air.

Inside the rainbow, everything would seem brighter, more vibrant, more alive, and gentler, all at once. The colors would not only surround us but also move through us. Red would ignite courage, orange would awaken enthusiasm, yellow would fill us with hope, green would nurture growth, blue would settle into peace, indigo would deepen mystery, and violet would stir wonder. For a moment, we would no longer carry the world’s weight or worry about what comes next. We would simply be there, fully alive and held within the eternal circle of color, light, and the beauty of God’s love.

Imagine carrying those colors and feelings inside us throughout the day. What if we all walked through the world that way? What if we carried the rainbow within us wherever we went, sharing God’s love so visibly that people could sense it before we even spoke?

Someone might look at us and say, “Look, there’s a rainbow!” Then they would smile and go on their way, a little lighter, perhaps even humming a tune.

So, the next time you see a rainbow, don’t dwell on the other side or the treasure at the end. Jump right in and immerse yourself in the colors and love of creation itself.