My house is busy this week. My son and his girlfriend are here from DC, my mom has come and gone, friends are popping in and out of the house...and the cooking and cleaning never ends! So, this morning when I woke, it was quiet. All the house was asleep. I jumped at the chance to get up, fix my coffee, and spend some quality time with God.
Ignoring the dishes that needed to be unloaded from the dishwasher and the sheets that needed to be folded from the dryer, I made my way to the place where I meet Him most mornings. Cup of coffee in hand, tissues in the other...I knew I had some serious talking to do. I spent a little time reading notes in my devotional book-My Utmost For His Highest. Some time before today, I had made a little star on the page for today's reading. This is my way of marking a lesson that God had taught me, so I flipped to the back of the book to read what it had been. The words that I read were these:
"Our battles are first won or lost in the secret places of our will in God’s presence, never in full view of the world. The Spirit of God seizes me and I am compelled to get alone with God and fight the battle before Him. Until I do this, I will lose every time."
Immediately, the lesson I learned in December of 2006 came right back to me, loud and clear, reminding me of the reason I needed to slip away during this busyness and sit with God; me, Him, and my tissues. I was in a battle and had spent the last few days hiding behind trees and in ditches, like I was playing a game of cowboys and Indians. But I lost this morning. A dream last night got my attention...funny, God used the exact situation that I battled in 2006 - in my dream last night - to get my attention today.
As I got up from my chair for a second cup of coffee, out of the corner of my eye through the window, I glimpsed the snow still on the ground from a snowfall on Christmas Eve. In Texas, it is unusual for snow to remain on the ground for the entire day after a snowfall, much less for three days. The temperatures had been well above freezing for the last two days, and I was surprised the snow was still there.
And then I thought about my heart. I thought all the coldness had melted when I fought this battle a few years ago, Lord. And you searched me and found a little bit of snow still hanging around and I am surprised it is still there. But just like the snow outside of my kitchen window, I am certain it will melt.
Thank you, God for the sun. You always melt the cold away!
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