The Hiding Place

My morning started pretty rough at 8:30 a.m. I felt awful when I got up. Even now, at 5:30 p.m. my hands are still swollen and holding certain things hurts. I knew I wasn't going to make the 30 mile round trip to Henderson today. The steering wheel is one of the things that bother me and Mike was working today. So, I had no one to drive for me.

I sat down and felt sorry for myself. I've been praying about this issue for a while now, trying to decide what to do. I don't function for nearly 2 hrs now when I get up in the mornings. There are times when I have no problems but those days have become fewer and farther apart. In the last few months, I haven't been to church but two or three times.

After about 30 minutes of moaning over something I couldn't fix, I decided to visit another church about 15 minutes from my house. We attended there for about 8 years when we moved here from South Carolina in 1988. Their Sunday service starts at noon, plenty of time to get my body to cooperate.

I took my time dressing and getting my hair fixed. This is now a task I don't like but I also don't like not fixing it. Hair loss coupled with clumsy hands takes more and more effort  and it can be painful. Once I was patched together, I sat down with my coffee to give my body time to catch up with my brain. By 10:30 I was feeling better. No, my hands still hurt but I could cope. Some days I can't even do that and some days that's all I can do.

I drove to McDonald's, where I ordered juice and breakfast and drove to the cemetery to visit Jerry's grave. I think I wanted company. He offered no advice. I ate my breakfast there. It was a pretty day.

After a quick stop at home to brush my teeth and take a restroom break, I got to church around 11:30 and could hear the service from the parking lot, two house from the church. That's a good sign. They've redecorated since I was there last and it looks good but what was nice was seeing familiar faces and having them say hello. Mike and David's former babysitter, now a mother herself, came and hugged my neck. She looked so much like her mother, who has already gone to be with the Lord. She is still such a sweet girl.

I can't tell you how wonderful it was just to sit and listen to the service. Yes, I prayed and I worshiped and I sang a bit but it felt so good to just sit and listen to the Word preached. If you aren't a person of faith, I can't make you understand. When I've been too ill to go to church, I've listened to YouTube ministers of my faith and in a pinch, that's a huge help. I'm grateful for it. Only, it isn't quite enough.

There is nothing that can replicate the experience of God's presence when believers gather to worship Him.  It is true there is strength in unity. You can have an experience on your own. You can worship, you can praise, you can be blessed in isolation. But the Church is designed to broaden that experience and to serve as a hospital where the weary, the wounded, and the battle scared can heal. I came home feeling much better, not physically, but less stressed, less frustrated, less anxious.

The Church is not a social club, although it is an enormous comfort to know people care about you and are actually interested in you. That isn't the real purpose. The Church is a retreat from a world that has gone mad, a hiding place for those pursued by chaos.

I've had my share of insanity and chaos in recent years. What a relief when I can escape for a brief time. I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord."

Sunday Services

Today has not been unusual. I've spent it alone and in relative quiet. Although, when I got up I did not feel well at all. For two weeks I had virtually no pain and this week I've been slammed with pain. Yesterday was horrible. This morning I slept late and I think the extra rest may have helped.

If you've followed me here or on Facebook you know that for months I've battled severe pain from rheumatoid arthritis. Virtually every day I am in pain in my feet, knees, hands, or hips. Or all of them. Moving is not fun most days, particularly if I have to get up and down very much.

I stayed home from church and it is very frustrating. All my life I've gone to church, missing only for serious illnesses or unavoidable issues. Now, it is almost a way of life, one I do not like. I'm isolated and my only Christian contact is via Youtube or the internet.  Thank God for those. I don't even like Facebook but sometimes people share Christian posts or videos. They are like water in the desert to this starving girl.

This morning I read my Bible and prayed. I listened to Samual Rodriguez, a Hispanic preacher that I've been following on YouTube for a while. He is a great little preacher and there is always such a wonderful spirit in his preaching. Every time I've listened to one of his messages, I am blessed. What would people like me do if it weren't for Youtube? I am always scouring for good preaching on there.

My pain seemed to lessen and around 12:30 I decided to attempt another walk in the cemetery. I visited Jerry's grave while I was there. They've put the flags out in preparation for Memorial Day and they'll hold services tomorrow. I don't know if I'll go or not. I usually do but it just depends on how I feel. I can carry a comfortable chair, at least.

After my walk, I decided to see if there was a place I could sit and have lunch. Lunch with the dead... the ideal dinner companion. You can say what you want, they listen, and they don't talk back or criticize you. 

When I got my lunch, I came back to the cemetery and found a seat. It was a beautiful day and I have to say, the best company I've had in a long time. 

And we got the shower, too.

3.25

If you read my previous post, you know that I've started a new Bible reading plan. I talked at great length about it in that post.

 Today, I started thinking about it again. Anyone who has been a Christian long thinks about reading the Bible through in one year. Among the faithful it is almost a rite of passage to do so.

 In fact, our obsession with this rite is so enormous that we've actually created a demand for companies to create Bible Reading Plans of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Just go Google it. Check out BibleGateway.com or other suppliers. Many of these plans are free so it isn't a great expense but now they're making actual Bibles with the scriptures organized into daily readings for you, just in case you can't do that on your own.

Do I sound a bit sarcastic? I guess I am. Because when I realized how silly this whole process is, I got snarky. I apologize. It is, in my humble opinion, very important that Christians and even non-Christians read the Bible through, from cover to cover, at least once in your life. It, like Shakespeare and Dickens, should be part of every education. And they could toss Dickens if it were up to me. For the Christian, if you continue going to church or reading any material where it is a reference before you die you will have heard or read the majority of it many times over.

However, I've come to the conclusion... in the last week, that we're really silly about the whole thing. In fact, my feeling that we're silly about it grew to the point that this morning I actually took my calculator and calculated exactly how many chapters per day we would need to read to finish the Bible in exactly 1 year (not including leap years).

Of course, Bible reading plans do this for you but how many chapters will vary as with as many plans as there are available. Most have you reading four or five a day. Some give you weekends off. Some, like my current plan, have you reading even more. If you check the last post I put up, you can find a link to the one I am trying now.

The truth is, it isn't that difficult to come up with a plan. First, you need to know what you're up against. There are 1189 chapters in the Bible. They vary in length considerably. Psalms 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible and runs for a few pages, depending on the font size on your Bible. Jeremiah is the longest book in the Bible and if you consider he has a second book, Lamentation, there is no competition. Both books are heavy reading.

Anyway, if you divide 1189 chapters by 365 days you will need to read 3.2575342466 chapters a day. You should finish on December 31. Since it isn't a round number you might as well just read four chapters and be done a day or so early to prep for your New Year celebration.

Just stop struggling with the whole thing. Chart out your own plan and read 3.25 chapters a day. You could start by reading all the short books first: the Minor Prophets and the short History books. You'd kill a big chunk of the Bible in a month or so. Follow up with the Letters, except Romans isn't short. Mix it up any way you like because for those driven to participate in the BIAY (Bible in a Year) competition, the truth is, it doesn't matter what order you read it in. As a bonus, you could read 5 chapters a day finish in 237.8 days, just in time for the Thanksgiving & Christmas holidays!

Remember the Minor Prophets, Paul's letters to individuals, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, general letters, and Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Ester are all some of the shortest books in the Bible.  Wisdom books follow.

Here's a graphic that divides the Old and New Testament into their proper divisions. Study it and create your own plan.