He'll Do It Again!

We transitioned from a beautiful but windy day in the high 70’s yesterday to a cold, wet and windy day in the mid-30’s today!  I gotta say… when I took the dog out around 5:30 this morning to take care of his morning duties… that it was a little bit brisk as I stood in the back yard in my hoodie, raincoat and paper-thin pajama bottoms… YIKES!  I am SURE that if Piper was looking down on me, that she would have been bending forward in a deep belly laugh!

For the last month or so I have been getting up around 5:15 every morning to take Fiver outback and then hop back into bed for another couple of hours.  I am really not sure what started this strange behavior.  I guess I was concerned about his not having gone out since around nine each evening! 

But it is a habit now… and is actually one that I enjoy for a number of reasons.  Firstly, because I am still not sleeping through the night without waking up numerous times thinking that I need to go over and check on my wife… who’s now been through heaven’s veil for over a year and a half!  Some habits are difficult to break!  That which had become a normal tradition of restless sleep was causing me to wake up a little on edge, tired, sore and much less happy with life than I usually tend to be!

So, one of the first positive results from Fiver’s and my early morning adventures was that I immediately noticed that when I went back to bed, that I slept soundly and woke up feeling rested, peaceful and upbeat.  Plus, I realized that I REALLY enjoy being out in the pre-dawn of the day to take advantage of the quiet, the beauty of the Great Plains skies, the morning fragrances in the air and the soft chirping of the early rising birds… you know… the one’s who get the worms!

This week I have also taken to reading some of my favorite Bible verses and praying before I climb back into bed.  I got so excited and into this special time yesterday and today, that I lost track of time before realizing that I’d been up for over an hour!  It was Fiver’s (literal) snoring on the bed that interrupted me and actually brought me back to reality!  So, for me, it has been a really good new habit to embark on!

One of the scriptures that has been getting me excited during these times sitting on the bed, in the dark with my flashlight and Bible* is from Psalms 27:1-3 in The Passion Translation where David wrote, just before being anointed king saying:

“The Lord is my revelation-light to guide me along the way; he’s the source of my salvation to defend me every day. I fear no one! I’ll never turn back and run from you, Lord; surround and protect me.  When evil ones come to destroy me, they will be the ones who turn back.  My heart will not be afraid even if an army rises to attack. I know that you are there for me, so I will not be shaken.” 

This passage stirs me because Piper and I lived it… almost word for word!  We physically saw THIS Word unfold right before our lives in those first few confusing, heartbreaking and yet FAITH-BUILDING years when we returned from Oklahoma and were faced head-on with the rapidly unraveling conditions of Piper’s health.  We made a pact with God that we would NEVER retreat from, and He surrounded us with His Love and His promises and protected us.  Evil accusations and lies were made against us but we held firm and refused to budge from how He was leading us… resulting in the fact that those individuals physically turned away from us… just like David wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit thousands of years ago!  Amazing right?

And that example of how He specifically moved in our past is energizing and empowering my faith to believe that He is doing the same for me in this new day, chapter and season of my life without her.  It is also giving me the confidence to know that I know that He is working His positive plans right in the midst of this Covid-19 pandemic that seems to be threatening the world as we’ve known it. 

Because of my past interactions with God… I can’t do anything but continue to firmly believe in Him and the truth of His Word to overcome it all… no-matter what the naysayers are saying on the news or the way many are highly critical of the Christian leaders who have come out claiming God’s protection for us as well as proclaiming God’s hand in stopping this virus!

I have come to be under the contention that those who came against us for following God’s plans instead of their opinions, were in reality angry with God and NOT with us.  We just happen to be the physical point of contact for their anger.  I wonder how many who are critical and angry with the body of Christ today, with our dependence on God instead of the ways of the world… are actually angry with God… and we Christians simply make for a convenient scapegoat?

What do you think?  Have a good weekend.  Stay safe, don’t yield to fear and do something special with your family.  Then say with me… “I am expecting God to surround and protect me in the midst of the evil one’s attack on me, my family, friends and the world.”



*Don’t ask me why I don’t just turn on the light on my bedstand!  I guess it just seems a little bit more intimate and private between me and God… or maybe it just brings back warm memories of when I was a kid and used to read a book or play with my Matchbox cars under the covers with my flashlight… thinking I was being sooo sneaky and that my parent’s would NEVER catch me… which of course, they always did!  Did any of you ever do that? (leave me a note – I promise not to tell your folks!)