Then my mom gave me a little book called Daily Light. It was a collection of verses that carried the same keyword. I could read it in about 5 minutes, and I could check daily Bible reading and prayer off my “should” list for the day. Not a very good motive, I'll admit, but as a relationship with God began to grow out of the routine, I grew to enjoy those minutes; they anchored my day.
One morning every verse mentioned, “God is my portion.”
“Oh, I like that,” I said to myself. “God is my portion is a really special thought for elderly, white-haired widow ladies. I might need these verses when I'm a cute little old widow in about 50 years. I should start a file and collect other verses, too. Then I’ll be set when it happens to me.”
I became a widow that very day, not 50 years later. When I finally got into bed that night—- alone -—and sleepless—- I re-opened Daily Light and stared blankly at the verses.
I am your portion and your inheritance. Numbers 18:20
Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:25-26
You, O LORD, are the portion of my inheritance . . . Psalm 16:5
Even though I was reading those verses, I felt frozen in a nightmare, like I couldn’t wake up. I didn’t want those verses that night. I loved my husband; I wanted him instead! I hadn’t given a thought to “God is my portion,” since I’d closed the book that morning. Not today, not yet, not for years! I wasn’t ready to be a widow!
Yet God had chosen that day to put those verses in my path, and that thought in my mind about how good they'd be for little old widow ladies. I didn’t even understand what God is my portion meant, but I knew God had spoken. I knew He had known all along what would happen to me that day.
Reading God's Word that day gave me hope.
What if I had skipped my daily quiet time that day? God would have worked some other way. But do you know what? I really like that He worked it this way. He speaks through the Bible, and I want to be sure to hear what He says. Every day. No matter what.
♥ ferree
Oh my gosh Ferree! You became a widow that very day you read that and had those thoughts. God is awesome! He lead you to that right when you were going to NEED it.
ReplyDeleteI am one of those 'white-haired widow ladies' and God has certainly been my portion these last almost 18 months.
I am ever thankful ~ FlowerLady
One of the ways my life has become enriched is the quiet mornings provided for me in my grief while reading my mother's Bible twice since she went on to her promised joy of Eternity. Since then, I have discovered more truths, promises, and encouraging messages to live a life of hope from my own Bible...the one that lived on a shelf for years during the time when I believed I was too busy or too tired to sit down long enough to understand God's way better. It was seldomed read until a question came up in my mind, or for browsing through when feeling discouraged. My beautiful Bible was given to me as a graduation gift when I completed nursing school. Thirty-seven years later, after I retired and became a widow, this Bible has moved to a place close at hand. I also enjoy reading material written by authors who have studied the Bible and can point me towards answers I seek and what God allows me to understand. My daily Christian reading time is usually only about 30 to 40 minutes. Getting up to go off to work in a rush at a fast paced workplace has mercifully been replaced by becoming quiet, more open and stronger for the day ahead. It is surely worth the investment, isn't it? And if I knew then what I know now, I would not have allowed the dust to settle on my own Bible. BTW, it took reading God's Word in a different format, such as Mom's Bible to "get into the hang of it".
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