The Chair

Psalms 119

1.  Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Hold on?  What does ‘hold on’ mean in your spiritual life?  For your safety….hold on means…reading the Bible, praying, and surrounding yourself with people who are going to love, support and hold you accountable.  I knew I was going to need to ‘hold on’ when the neighborhood kids descended on my new home the FIRST weekend that I moved in.

Anthony (who quickly elevated me to ‘white mama’ status) was the first kid I met.  From the middle of the intersection……at my ELEVATED CORNER LOT…Anthony and some of his friends (all boys!) were riding their bikes.  Anthony’s first words were ’Howdy Neighbor!  Welcome to the Neighborhood!’  Then….he wanted to know if I had any kids that could come out and play.  He looked completely dejected when I told him that I didn’t.  But, the disappointment didn’t last long, when I shared with him that I could make a ‘mean’ cookie!  When the kids came a’ knockin’ 30 minutes later, I was forced into baking some that night.  It was awesome!  Since that time, many of the neighborhood kids hang at “Miss Marti’s House” causing me to ‘hold on’ more than ever before!  You will hear much more about Miss Marti’s Kids in future posts.  They all totally ROCK!!!

As part of moving into the house where I had so much more room, I wanted a chair…a space….dedicated to reading the Word and spending quiet time with the Lord.  I moved in mid-August and had that space by mid September.  As I began to take my quiet time with the Lord more and more seriously, the Lord was revealing more and more to me…about Him…and about me.  I spent every morning in that chair…sometimes it was just a minute or 2, sometimes it was 30!  Regardless, I knew it had to become a discipline…a habit.  Not just a ‘crash course’ to prepare for my Tuesday Night Bible study.

In December of 2005, I was reading John.  It’s awesome how God works.  We got an early snow.  I went outside to start the car…’to let it warm up’ and was too lazy to go back upstairs to ‘the chair’.  So, I sat downstairs and flipped through another Bible to find where I left off and read John… where Jesus speaks about praying in His name.  The next day…I am pulled to that same verse again.  For the first time…I prayed about my singleness in Jesus name.  I told the Lord…”just throw me a bone…give me a sign.  If you plan on me getting married one day…just throw me a bone.  Let me know you haven’t forgotten about me.”

My friend Riste said….after hearing the rest of this short story… “imagine what He would have done if you had asked for the man…instead of the bone?!??!?”