Good morning…
The light of our LORD leads us out of our comfort zone. It was such a joy to sew together delightful pictures from our light-filled living room with the fresh, instructive Word of God in yesterday’s post, Our Silent Soundtrack. That life-giving blog was particularly profound for me since it was crafted on the day a huge shift occurred.
In the summer of 2005, during my darkest season of depression, the light of God’s voice audibly woke me one night to illuminate a brand new directive: “Host a Bible study in your home.” In retrospect that may seem like a doable thing, except that we had just moved to the area two summers before and I knew no one well enough to invite them into our living room. Still, obedient to the Spirit’s leading, I made handmade invitations and, the very next Sunday, anyone who smiled at me at our new church received a handwritten invite. I mailed out a few invitations to friends who lived forty-five minutes up the road, having remained in touch from a previous life chapter. To my shocked surprise, seven women, half whom I had never met, showed up at our doorstep on the first day of that study, mysteriously drawn by the light of our living LORD.
Since that fall in 2005, I have facilitated several weekly classes in our humble home, semester by semester for over fifteen years. You might remember this: I am an undiagnosed dyslexic who has a really hard time reading and comprehending, so God knew that when I study a book I learn best through slowly digesting chapter by chapter and engaging in collaborative conversation to awaken deep knowing. As I look back, there was such a hidden, grace-filled provision for me in the Spirit’s instruction, “Host a Bible study in your home.” Friendships developed from the true self in me. Wisdom I didn’t know I knew came bubbling up. Over the years, our home has been filled with so much living Light, so much spiritual illumination, so much radiant warmth sparked by the Holy Spirit in me and the Holy Spirit in others. That’s why this week’s visceral visual of unmistakeable sunlight saturating our living room meant so much to me. “This is your comfort zone of collaborative combustion,” I sensed the Spirit say before leading me away from my cozy familiar.
Yesterday, for the first time, I taught our regular Friday morning class at Northside Church instead of our light-filled living room. In a room large enough to safely social distance, with masked faces for added protection, my smiling eyes met the smiling eyes of the women on our roster. Seeing eye to eye was so so delightful. As transitional objects, I brought a candle from our living room to light up the sweet aroma of home and the weathered box which holds our disposable name tags. The things we missed most in this new setting were the two furry, friendly greeters, our welcoming dogs Tate and Gracie.
Like old times, we enjoyed reconnecting with fun Friday morning friends and introducing ourselves to new-to-us people. Then we responded to one reflective question, “What blessings will you take with you from this COVID season, treasures uncovered in darkness which might not have been discovered any other way?”
Fascinating responses rolled off our masked tongues. Our answers resonated in surround-sound, illuminating our shared experience. Gratitude for all the daily blessings we used to take for granted and a deep desire to help those in our community who go without life’s basic necessities. Slowing down, living life at a slower, more nurturing pace. Church community can take so many delicious forms. “I used to think if I worked really hard I could make good things happen. I have learned that I am not in control,” one woman said, “and this is a truly freeing revelation.” The inner strength to verbalize, stand up for, and protect the people and priorities we value the most. An ability to adapt to what is. A willingness not to just tolerate change, but to be allow God to transform our innermost being in the midst of unstoppable change. A deep recognition that we really need each other, we thrive best in face to face, soul to soul relationships. “I will always keep the delightful memories of an unplanned season of sheltering in place with our growing up family,” said one empty-nester. I shared that I have grown to appreciate this unusual year of deep listening with God, a solitary season birthing two new studies sparked by the Spirit, one being the Waking Up Whole: Mind, Body, and Soul study we will steep in together this winter and spring.
Though so much valuable has been lost during this worldwide pandemic, never, ever to be regained as life existed before, will we notice the light of our LORD illuminating all that we are receiving from a deep down renovation of our collective hearts?
I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them (Isaiah 42:16, NIV).
Walking side-by-side with the God who does not forsake us, what else are you learning personally as we follow the path lit up by our living LORD?
…Sue…
