Friday, February 20, 2015

Quiet, Please





Discouragement and weariness nipped at my heels like yapping dogs.  Unwelcome tears stole to the corners of my eyes as I entered my quiet space and shut both doors.  The sound of the dogs seemed farther away as I sat on the sofa with Bible, journal, and pen at hand.  I swallowed the lump in my throat and took a deep breath.  My lips quivered as I struggled to find proper words, but gave up and decided quietness was better.  I thought of my Lover and closed my eyes.

Aware of His presence, I saw a wrought iron fence that surrounded a garden, which I entered through the diagonal corner gate.  Before me in the center of the garden was a beautiful, white, three-tiered water fountain.  Tall geysers of crystal clear sparkling water rocketed upward, and then fell, cascading, into its base below.  Immediately, I thought, “The Water of Life, springing up to salvation.” 

As I looked down, a circular bed of smiling, purple-faced yellow pansies decorated the base of the fountain, and I began to weep.  My Amish paternal grandmother’s nickname was “Pansy,” and as I cried, I thanked my heavenly Father for her love and years of faithful prayer for me.  To my left I noticed a bird house atop a pole, while a small bird perched on the lower lip of the fountain to take a drink.   

Enjoying the melody of the fountain, I walked past the birdhouse to a canopy swing on the soft green grass, and invited my Lover to join me.  We sat in peaceful silence for awhile before I noticed a lidded brown box close to the fountain.  I turned to Him.  A bit timid, I gathered my courage and asked, “What’s in the box?”  Immediately I knew it contained my disappointments and weariness, and I began to weep.  I spoke in a whisper. “I give You all my weariness, all my disappointments; please refresh every part of me.”

He stood beside me in companionable silence, never demanding anything.  My heart lifted and I felt deeply loved, understood, warmed, and comforted.  Then my day called, and the interruption annoyed me.  I looked at Him and said, “I have to go.”

The next day I went back to the garden with eagerness, and again invited my Lover to join me.  A golden shaft of sunlight streamed onto the green grass as we sat together on the swing.  Again the box by the fountain caught my attention.  My Lover looked at me and suggested, “Let’s open it together.”  He walked with me to the box, bent down and lifted the lid.  My heart leapt with surprised delight when, instead of disappointments, I saw beautiful jewels and necklaces!  In the bottom of the box were His love letters to me.  I made a mental note of the desire that filled my heart -- the desire to read His Words. 

Oh how I loved Him; there was no reproach in His look – just acceptance of me and understanding of the world I live in.  He reached out a hand to me, and we smiled at each other.  In playful abandon I grasped both His hands as we swirled across the soft green grass. 

If those dogs try to hound me again, I know where to find my garden.

Copyright © 2015 Elaine Beachy

Monday, February 16, 2015

The Alarm

I turned onto my left side, opened one bleary eye, and glanced at my alarm clock.  I was pleased to see I had awakened on my own at 7:00 a.m. with my alarm set for 7:30 a.m.  I rubbed the sleep out of both eyes, reached over and shut off the alarm to make sure I didn’t forget to do so once I was up. I stretched my body, and lay contented for a few minutes before I rolled out of bed. 



After I made the bed, I went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, hung my towel across the top of the shower, placed the hairdryer on the sink, set out the hair spray, mousse and hair brush, and picked out my clothes to wear to my Women’s Life meeting that morning.

The water was cold, so I waited for it to get warm before I stepped into the shower.  Ahh, it felt so good!  I thanked the Lord for the nice hot shower, and prayed for the homeless deprived of such luxury.  My prayer was interrupted by a jarring sound—the sound of my alarm clock!  What?  Surely I was hearing things. But no, the angry sound of insistent decibels was unmistakable.  How was it possible?  I turned the alarm off before I got out of bed.  I was sure I did…didn’t I?  I questioned my memory.

A sudden thought struck me.  “Is God sounding the alarm for me to pray for someone?”  With one ear toward heaven, I asked Him, and prayed in the Spirit for certain individuals that came to mind.  I didn’t sense any urgency, and I wasn’t sure, but I prayed anyway.

After I prayed, I debated.  Should I turn off the shower and drip my way on tiptoe into the bedroom to silence the offender, or tell my brain to ignore the sound?  Should I try to rouse my husband at the computer in the office to come to my aid? No, he’d never hear me unless I gave myself a sore throat. Then there was the matter of our son’s bedroom on the lower level directly below our master bath.  He might think I was in mortal danger and come running if he heard me yell.  Perish that thought.  

The sound of an insistent alarm is kind of like hearing the persistent cry of a baby. 
I marshaled my thoughts.  What’s the hurry?  The clock isn’t going anywhere, and I am bigger than that clock.  I decided the clock would just have to wait until I was good and ready to exit the shower and get reasonably dry.

As warm water cascaded down my back, I did the stretch exercises for the lower back my chiropractor told me to do.  All of them.  I took time to squeegee the glass shower doors and towel-dried my hair, then tucked the towel around me, and stepped out of the shower, eager to be free at last from ten minutes of irritation.

I hurried to my nightstand and looked at the alarm button.  It was pushed to OFF.  What??  I didn’t know what to do except pick up the alarm to examine it.  When I did so, the alarm silenced.  Go figure.


Copyright © 2015 Elaine Beachy

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Will You Be Mine?


Everyone needs the offer of love and friendship.  Who can forget the cute "puppy love" valentines you received in school?  Or the homemade valentines you made with crayons, markers or water colors, construction paper, and bits of ribbon or lace?  Or the little multi-colored candy hearts with the words, “Be Mine, hug me, real love, all mine,” etc?  Maybe you purchased your valentines to share with classmates in elementary school, or mailed them off to friends. 
Photo by gettyimages.com

Recently, when I cleaned out some dresser drawers in search of Grandma Ollie’s locket I purchased at Grandpa’s auction, I came across some Victorian valentines I bought years ago from some forgotten catalog.  I photographed them for this post: 





I also found a Victorian fan I’d forgotten I had, and photographed it as well.  Along with the fan, I found a fascinating paper on “The Language of Fans.”  Apparently, every male and female was to know the proper social language of the fan. 






As I thought about love, I decided to write a poem based on I Corinthians 13 in the Bible.

What is love?

Love is the glue
That keeps friendship from crumbling.
Love is the arm
That keeps you from stumbling.

Love is the look
That says, “It’s okay,”
When you’ve blown it so badly,
Or gone your own way.

Love is the joy
When truth wins the day,
Iniquities pardoned—
Not put on display.

Love is no joke;
It’s sincere and kind,
Not rude or proud,
But peace for the mind.

Yes, love never fails,
And our God is love.
Our cues are from Him
On the wings of a Dove.

God sent you a Valentine: Jesus!  His valentine reads, “Will you be Mine? Even before you were born, I loved you so much that I sent My Son into your world to die for your sins to restore our relationship—yours and Mine.  If you believe Me, be My valentine.  Will you?” 

Dear reader, if you accept God’s valentine offer, pray this prayer: “Jesus, I accept Your forgiveness of my sins.  I declare that You alone are Lord, and I believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. I thank You for Your promise that anyone who calls on Your name will be saved.  Thank You for loving me; thank you for saving me, Jesus.”  (Taken from Romans 10:9-13)

If you prayed that prayer, I’d like to hear from you.  E-mail me at elainesplace4@verizon.net so I may encourage you in your new life of freedom in Jesus! 

Happy Valentine’s Day!


Copyright © 2015 Elaine Beachy