Back in the Dishwater 2
When last we saw our heroine…at least our protagonist…she was on her way, coffee in hand, to her lovely, personal sanctuary…
Well, ahem…The only personal sanctuary in my house at 5:30 a.m. is the one God is building for Himself in my heart! This time of year it is a pool of light next to the half-price-day thrift store recliner in my office/studio/this-needs-to-be-filed-somewhere room. A few weeks ago it was the love seat in the glow of candles and Christmas lights in view of the manger where the sculpture of the Infant Christ lies speaking volumes to me about trusting the Father’s care in tough situations. As the sun rises earlier, it will be on the mostly intact bench (a refugee from someone’s bulk trash collection) in a grape arbor dedicated to God– my “quiet space.”
Yeah. About my “quiet time”…because it is a relationship (or supposed to be), it is never the same twice. I usually carry the same tools to the building site: Bible of some kind, journal of some description, pen from the credit union (I have misplaced my favorite one… sad face), and coffee, but what happens next depends on a lot of things.
I have tried reading the Bible through in a year. I end up rushing through places I need to camp out and absorb, or reading for brownie points, Pharisee-style. I have tried reading with the Moravians. It’s a little better paced for my style, but I still get behind and feel guilty or frustrated.
I have tried listening to scripture being read by someone else…my mind wanders.
I love to study the Word, but early mornings, I just need to connect my heart and mind with God. So I ask the Holy Spirit to point me to where He wants to connect with me. This year I began in 1 John where my “word for the year” comes from. I went looking for the context so I could understand more fully what it means. 1 John is a very short book; the language is simple both in English and in Greek, but the content is so broad and comprehensive that each sentence reads like a years’ worth of sermon topics. I read it through a couple of times and realized I was just dragging my eyeballs over the words without absorbing anything.
Okay, Holy Spirit. Now what?
Beginning to read slowly, I realized I had questions about what John was saying from the very first sentence, like “Where did Jesus say that?” “What has John held with his hands?” “Where did John get that idea?” So, now I am reading His poetic biography of Jesus, looking at the Jesus-who-loved-John, seeing new things through the well-loved eyes of John.
Even in my quiet times with Jesus, I need to follow Him to where He is.
More next week about #followingjesuseverydayintheeveryday,
Christi
P.S. Here is a song about His desire to spend time with you.
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