Our 4th child was born healthy and happy last month. Thanks be to God. He, like his sister before him, are often called “Rainbow Babies.”
I have some problems with this catchphrase. For one thing, after standing at the foot of our three-year-old son’s grave, it sounds like a trite gimmicky term that cannot begin to encompass the depths of our grief journey.
For another, “Rainbow Babies” seems like a phrase that outsiders use to express their relief that you’ve “moved on” or God has placed you back in the “blessed” category. Placing these rose-colored glasses on does not remove the dread that grieving parents feel.
Not Everyone Gets A Rainbow Baby
In the Christian tradition, rainbows symbolize God’s Covenant of Protection.
“I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” Genesis 9:15-16
But this promise of “never again” falls flat to grieving parents. We know that our children will die. We know that we might have to bury more children (See: Joe Biden).
I was terror-stricken throughout my entire pregnancy with my daughter. I spent the first six months of her life-changing out the batteries in her breathing monitors. Every morning, every nap time I expected to find her dead.
I didn’t worry about it. I expected it.
Fear is normalized when grief is fresh. The promise that God will give my children eternal life is still more real to me than the promise that He will guard and protect them here on earth.
But the most important reason I’m not a fan of using the term “Rainbow Babies” is that my youngest son and daughter’s stories are not defined by their brother’s short life or their parents’ grief journey.
They are not an accessory in my life. They are not a footnote in my grief journey. They are born persons made in the image of God who were sent here with their own unique story.
They are adding a new color to our family and the world.
You Will Always Be My (Rainbow) Baby
God is writing a beautiful story, and we all have parts to play to bring Him glory. That’s my prayer – not just for my living children but also for myself. God is a Master Storyteller. No detail escapes His narrative plan. In Revelation, we see God bookend His story with rainbows:
“And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. ” Revelation 4:3
A never-ending rainbow. An eternal promise before our eyes. There will come a day when my children will all be living and worshiping together. They will be truly safe and secure in the new heaven and the new earth.
Until then, we pray for temporal protection. In our church’s Rite of Baptism, the Pastor prays that the infant, child, or adult will be kept “safe and secure in the ark of the Christian church.” As I rock my baby boy tonight, I’ll remember that regardless of when God calls my son home, God is seated on His throne, encircled in a rainbow.
He is good. And He is in control. As I rock as a ship tossed about at sea, holding my defenseless newborn who some call a Rainbow Baby, I’ll remember that we have a Rainbow God.
Originally published on: http://dinneronabunsenburner.blogspot.com/2018/05/some-thoughts-on-rainbow-babies.html
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About the Author: Dr. Melissa McCrory Hatcher teaches English at the college level, and while her babies nap, she writes. Between diapers and deadlines, she tries to cultivate a contemplative life. In the aftermath of their 3-year-old son’s sudden death, she wrote two devotional books – Ordering Our Affections: Advent, Ordering Our Affections: Lent, as well as the forthcoming poetic memoir: The Cleansing Flood – Impressions of Grief.
If you want to see pictures of her rainbow hair or her homeschool adventures, you can follow her:
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Blog http://dinneronabunsenburner.blogspot.com/
I tend to agree with you about this term. The rainbow is a visual reminder of God’s promise to never destroy the world by flood again. Your reasoning is quite sound. Not one of my 3 birthed children replaced the one I lost early in my first pregnancy. God had a plan for each individual child, this I believe with all my heart. I would never reduce the preciousness, the importance of each of my children to being a “replacement” of the one I lost. They are gifts from God just as the first was.
Rainbow baby has always sounded awkward to me but I could never articulate why. You did a masterful job, Melissa. The term “angel baby” has always grated on my ears as well, since we don’t become angels when we die.
Hope we get to see y’all soon!