Her picture shed a whole new light on things. Literally.

The “her” is my step father’s granddaughter, Christine. She lives in Southern California. Last fall, she came out to our neck of the woods to visit and take in our beautiful East Tennessee.

And that she did.

Christine spent a day walking around the farm and taking pictures. She even walked down to the bridge and took a few of Bull Run Creek. One of those pictures really stood out to me. Over my life time, I have taken a few pictures of the creek while standing on the bridge, but none of them were anything like hers.

The first thing that caught my attention where the bright sunrays. As you can see in the picture, the light seemed to filter through the trees into separate bright beams. I began to have a nagging feeling that I was missing something in the picture.

Of course that feeling came from the Lord.

I continued to study it. To be honest, it was a little irritating since I couldn’t quite put my finger on what He wanted me to notice. Then it struck me like a bolt of lightning. For a few seconds, I was literally speechless.

The place on the creek in the beams’ spotlight was where believers were baptized when I was a young girl. How awesome is that? It was as if God was highlighting that spot because it was, is, and always will be so special to Him.

The church where I grew up baptized in that creek well into the 1980s. Other local churches did as well. It was a part of life. If we were driving home and there was a baptizing service being held, we had to turn off the radio and not say anything until we were well past the bridge. It was a sign of respect. You know, I do miss looking out of Mamaw Girdle/Myrtle’s bedroom window and watching many a baptizing service.

But that wasn’t the end of my studying the picture.

Again, I had the impression that I needed to study the picture. There was something else I needed to notice. First, I focused on the creek. Nothing. Next, I focused on the trees. Nothing. Then I honed in on the light beams and had another mind blowing realization.

There was faint rainbow inside the beams. Actually, it was more of a prism effect. I don’t know if you can see it in the picture, but the colors of the rainbow are present in the beams of light.

This was exciting too because rainbows have always fascinated me. Even now, as soon as the rain stops and the sun comes out, I run outside and search for the iridescent bow. And it’s more than its brilliant colors. When I was little girl, I remember my mother teaching me the story behind the rainbow and how it represented God’s promise to us.

“And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations.” Genesis 9:12 (KJV)

So every time I saw one, I felt as if it was a personal connection between The Lord and myself. I also felt that way when I was baptized in the creek.

“Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.” Colossians 2:12 (KJV)

I thought of something else. There’s an old legend that says there’s a treasure or a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I think the end of the rainbow in this picture represents the treasures of Heaven, which are absolutely beyond our wildest imaginations.

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9 (KJV)

Do you have your treasured place secured in the spotlight?