This is my most treasured corner in our entire home. It may not look like a whole lot, but it’s the place where I begin every new day with Jesus.
I wake up early while it’s still dark outside and make my way to this little corner. Before Rip bought me this little Better Homes & Gardens Basket Dusk to Dawn night light, it was always a dark corner. I’d need to turn on the rangehood light just so I wouldn’t stub my toe on the island making my way to the coffee pot. But now this sweet little night light comes on as the sun is setting, stays on all night, and turns off after the sun has risen a little in the morning. (I know…you’re thinking, ‘Lisa, that’s what dusk to dawn means!’… but I just wanted to really stress the thoughtfulness of this new little joy in my life!!)
But there’s another reason why I love this corner…and it’s all that it represents. How Scripture is exalted here. And people! How it’s simplicity keeps me grounded and joyful in what really matters in my life.
The Living Word of God.
You see, my little night light reminds me that “light shines in the darkness.”
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5
“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12
“For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” John 3:20-21
The burlap stand is where I put the Scripture I’m memorizing – so, I get to see His Word before ever opening His Word in the mornings!
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1
“In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise.” Psalm 56:10
“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11
The little sign given to me from my sister that says, “Don’t worry about tomorrow, God is already there” speaks to two of the most important principles of Christian theology – the Sovereignty and the Providence of God.
The fact that God is sovereign essentially means that He has the power, wisdom, and authority to do anything He chooses within His creation. Whether or not He actually exerts that level of control in any given circumstance is actually a completely different question. Often, the concept of divine sovereignty is oversimplified. We tend to assume that, if God is not directly, overtly, purposefully driving some event, then He is somehow not sovereign. The cartoon version of sovereignty depicts a God who must do anything that He can do, or else He is not truly sovereign.
Of course, such a cartoonish view of God’s sovereignty is logically false. If a man were to put an ant in a bowl, the “sovereignty” of the man over the ant is not in doubt. The ant may try to crawl out, and the man may not want this to happen. But the man is not forced to crush the ant, drown it, or pick it up. The man, for reasons of his own, may choose to let the ant crawl away, but the man is still in control. There is a difference between allowing the ant to leave the bowl and helplessly watching as it escapes. The cartoon version of God’s sovereignty implies that, if the man is not actively holding the ant inside the bowl, then he must be unable to keep it in there at all.
The illustration of the man and the ant is at least a vague parallel to God’s sovereignty over mankind. God has the ability to do anything, to take action and intervene in any situation, but He often chooses to act indirectly or to allow certain things for reasons of His own. His will is furthered in any case. God’s “sovereignty” means that He is absolute in authority and unrestricted in His supremacy. Everything that happens is, at the very least, the result of God’s permissive will. This holds true even if certain specific things are not what He would prefer. The right of God to allow mankind’s free choices is just as necessary for true sovereignty as His ability to enact His will, wherever and however He chooses. Divine providence is the governance of God by which He, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. Through divine providence God accomplishes His will. To ensure that His purposes are fulfilled, God governs the affairs of men and works through the natural order of things.” *GotQuestions
“Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.” Psalm 147:5
“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” Psalm 90:2
“The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,and his kingdom rules over all.” Psalm 103:19
“So that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:45
And then….there’s the photo of our precious grandson, Nathan Isaac Harris. Beside his photo is a painted block that a dear friend gave me that says, “For this child I have prayed.” Which is so true! But for me, when I wake up and look at his little smiling face, it’s “For this child I PRAY.” And fervently pray! He is the next generation and my prayer for him is that he will love the LORD his God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength. And that he will love his neighbor as himself. That very soon in his life, he will come to crave the pure milk of the Word of God and will delight in the desires of His Father’s heart all his life. That he will joy in the Lord, and will spend his days repentant, rejoicing, and receiving the grace and mercy of his heavenly Father with gratitude. That he will live with a willing spirit to the Lord and His Word, and that the joy of the Lord will be his strength. Waking up to his smiling face each day reminds me, also, of my new God assigned purpose in being a grandmother.
“Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.” Proverbs 17:6
“He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them,the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.”Psalm 78:5-7
Last, but in no way least ….
The floating shelves that hold it all. Those shelves were made by my husband. Rip cut the wood, sanded it, and stained and sealed them. Then, he took so much care to make sure they were mounted securely. When I look at those shelves, made just for me by him, my heart is full! Full of love and adoration for such a hard-working, loving and caring man!
If you do not have a small kitchen corner, a closet you can turn into a quiet time nook, a sitting area, or maybe just a chair with a table close beside, any place in your home where you can go each morning to focus on the Word of God, to read prayerfully, to pray, and to worship – then it’s my prayer that you may now be a little encouraged to create …
such a special place.
