September 3, 2003 Morning

This morning, I sit under the teachings and the readings from Scripture and I am not sure what God is saying to me specifically today. For about twenty minutes after doing the readings, I sat in silence in the upholstered rocker by the open patio doors, eyes closed, listening and pondering, seeing some of the images in the stories in my mind’s eye.

I could see Elijah and Ahab in their confrontation on Mount Carmel. The priests of Baal cutting themselves and drawing blood as they try to invoke Baal so he will consume the sacrifice on their altar. I see Elijah ridiculing them. I underlined the passage where Elijah asks the people present, “How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him.”

I see Elijah drenching the sacrifice and filling the troughs around the altar with water and the fire of God coming down.

“Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and liked up the water that was in the trench.
And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; The Lord, he is the God.” (I Kings 18:38-9)

Whoops, I see I read ahead of this morning’s first lesson and read tonight’s as well.

The second lesson concerns Paul’s joy that the Corinthians had accepted his rebuke with godly sorrow that turned into repentance.

“For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” (II Corinthians 7:10)

I am not sure what meaning to mine for today, but I know that if I lay these treasures into my soul, God can use them to remind me or teach me or direct me using these verses and these images.

I do not wish to halt between two opinions.

The sun streams through my patio doors, warming my shoulders. The air outside was chilly this morning, cool enough to make me find a shawl, but I have taken it off now.

A client sent me flowers yesterday to thank me for the work I’d done for him. They sit on the dining room table next to me: purple and white snapdragons, yellow and orange lilies, pink and white carnations, a bunch of fresh white daisies, fresh green ferns and a single red rose.

Work is trickling in; I have assignments to keep me busy in the short term. I am letting ideas percolate in the back of my mind on how to write a new chapter for my second novel.

So much to be thankful for.