Bible Study

This morning I bundled up to brave the cold in the swing on my deck because finding a quiet place is a little different on Saturday with two small children. 

It reminded me of church camp when we got up early each day to find a quiet spot outside for bible study. As a teenager, I was not accustomed to getting up early. I remember groggily turning the pages of the KJV that may as well have been written in a different language because the ancient texts went way over my head. Still, hearing the birds who had long been at work already, breathing in the fresh, new day that was just beginning to unfold itself, and seeing the light illuminate the trees branch by branch, falling over everything in a light, lovely, glistening veil, I could feel the presence of God and I knew this routine requirement was meant to invite a space that I would not otherwise carve out on my own.

​This morning, I felt so grateful that the same, unchanging God who filled that feeble, reluctant space years ago, would meet me in the swing, in the cold, amidst the dawn of day and the little birds to-do lists almost twenty years later. And for the transformative power that can occur when we submit ourselves to what may seem like rote requirements, the full fruition of which may not be revealed until a much later time. #thanksbetogod