Thank Jesus for the Rainbows

So if I haven't sounded crazy enough in past posts about rainbow horses, or in Justin's Jesus when Riley tells us He played with bubbles the night that Justin went to be with Jesus; I will now!  Don't get me wrong, before I share our latest story, I want you to know that I am not ruling out brain and eye development, along with vision abnormalities.  The only thing is, this is the first time I have witnessed Riley "seeing" things, it does not happen often, I do not think he has a "gift" for paranormal activity, or that he "sees dead people."  We are not living in a Sixth Sense sort of life, and it could very well be just an over active 4 year old imagination. 

I wasn't going to share this story because I know that you guys will think I am crazy, looking too much into it, or that Riley is just an "odd" child....which of course could all be true! :)  But last night, Riley fell asleep in mine and Ryan's room while watching a movie.  The problem with Riley falling asleep early, and in our bed, is that he feels he only needs a couple hours of sleep and then is good to go for the rest of the day/night. Even if it is midnight; he has already gotten a few good hours of sleep in and that should suffice for the rest of us; it doesn't!  So of course when we went to move him to the couch, he woke up and was ready to go.  He wanted to watch a show, so in order for us to get some sleep, we let him, and went to bed ourselves.  A few minutes later, Riley asked for some apple juice and for his daddy to say his prayers with him, so of course, Ryan being the awesome daddy that he is, got up and said his prayers with him; came back to bed and fell asleep. 

About an hour later, Riley asked if he could come in and sleep with us.  He crawled into bed, and asked me to sing him a song.  I sang him Jesus Loves Me, It only takes a spark,  a couple other christian songs that came to mind, and of course he wanted "just one more".  I decided to sing him a song that my grandma learned from her mom, and that her and my mom used to sing to us a lot as little girls.  I don't usually sing it to them, only because I think it is a very sad song.  It is about two little orphans who are found under the steeple of a church and had gone home to be with their momma in Heaven, (I love the song and the message is great but thinking about two little kids frozen under a steeple is kinda saddening).  After I got done singing this song, Riley goes, "Mom, I am so glad Jesus gives us pretty rainbows."  I didn't know where this was coming from but at 3:00 in the morning, Riley could be grateful for whatever he wanted and I would have agreed, and simply said, "me too, Riley, but it's late, we have church tomorrow and we (mom) really needs to get some sleep" (He of course thought he had already slept for the night!). 

That didn't stop him though, he asked me if I could see the rainbow in my room, and after telling him I couldn't, he took my head, put it where his was and adamantly started pointing, and maneuevering my head so that I could see this rainbow. I never did see it, but once again it was 3:00 in the morning and I would "see" anything if it meant I could close my eyes and get some sleep.  But then he pointed to another one, got under the covers and told me that he was going to pray to Jesus and tell him thank you for the pretty rainbows.  Then started talking about all the bubbles in the room, and if we popped them feathers would come out for me and stars would come out for him.  He proceeded to get up and start "catching" bubbles.  Now I was awake!!!

I asked him if we were just playing pretend, and by this point told him I didn't see the bubbles or the rainbows, and asked if he was sure he saw them? He just assured me that these bubbles and the rainbows were real, and when he would "catch" one he would come over and show me the "rainbow" in his hands. 

At this point I was getting ready to wake Ryan up and tell him that we needed to rush Riley to the E.R, he obviously was showing signs of a concussion from that fall he took four days ago!  But I didn't, keeping in mind that it had been four days, and has been completely "normal" since, and that there wasn't even a bump on his head after the fall.  Then started thinking that maybe he got into something when we went mushroom hunting...anything!  I had no idea what to think about this. I did ask him if he sees rainbows and bubbles a lot, and if they are in his room too.  He told me no, just on his birthday, (the day the 'photograph from heaven' was taken) but I thought maybe he was talking about the balloons we had put in his room that morning.  He said, "no, before the balloons."  After awhile Riley told me that the bubbles were going out of the room, and rolled over and fell asleep. 

I had Ryan ask Riley about the "bubbles" and "rainbows" this afternoon after church.  The story was the same.  'There were bubbles in your room" "if you popped them feathers and stars came out" "he was catching them "there was a rainbow on the door" and "Jesus made the rainbows". 

Like I said this could just be an over active imagination, a brain or eye developmental issue, or a vision impairment.  Who knows.  I guess time will tell in that, but either way I guess in the mean time we can still thank Jesus for the rainbows. 

On a side note: When I gave my testimony at Bible Study on Monday, (which I had planned on writing about until last night happened) I had told them about Riley saying that he had played with bubbles that night that Justin went to be with Jesus and that after reading the book Heaven is for Real, I looked up Akiane (the painter of Prince of Peace in the book).  As I was looking through her pictures one night I noticed that she paints quite a few pictures that include bubbles.  Here is one I found later that explains what the bubbles mean in that particular photo.  The photo at the beginning of the blog (with the horse) is her painting that came to mind once again today, and also the poem that she wrote with this photo.  The painting is called "Butterfly Passion" Here is the description and the poem.  Written by Akiane Kramarik

Whether in his dream or for real, a horse is running after his love downstream, while the love butterflies surround him. The bubbles represent womb and beginning.

I painted this scene to express the search for love and its meaning...

Marching across the straining view, saddles are on their own.
The pounding hooves like crushed bells start suddenly to moan.

When I hold the armed love, controlling the courage in oak boats,
spoiled and regenerated sunbeams cross the country raspberry roads.

Glittering landscape by the shores is a newborn faith beaten by the countless waves.
Everything tempts me to love you...

Everywhere I run, love rains...

The revelation of the butterfly passion in front and back throbs the same.
What a fresh smell of your eyelashes I braid them along with my mane!

In midsummer we are like two young angels, inhaling love one motion at a time.
Your legs walk on mine, stepping on love, and right away I sense the meaning of life.

To be born together, yet years apart, we both rush out of the womb...
My eyes are blurry, yours are so clear, when I carry the river to you.

Your tears are free, but mine are armed from above.
Let me hold our courage, so the courage could arm our love!