Conversation Peace
The full moon shined brightly in the darkness as Friday night turned into early Saturday morning.
The moonlight bounced off of a black car that streaked through silence - Stevie Wonder’s “Rocket Love” yielded a failed attempt to find music on the radio, which encouraged me to turn off the radio.
It seemed that Friday night that everyone was busy or asleep - understandable, of course - but unfulfilling nonetheless.
Even ESPN did little to fill the evening - and then something spoke to me, something that made so much sense.
-----------------------------------
The night before, my second cousin asked if I knew of any Bible verses to share with him; an incoming freshman in college, he had some fears about the experience.
“God did not give us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and of a sound mind,” I told him - a response that encouraged him. It felt good to have that exchange with him, and I shared a few chapters with him this time around - Matthew 6, I Corinthians 13 and I John 4.
He asked about the Bible as he sat in his dorm room on a quiet evening - a scene that reminded me of my first semester in college. Scenes like that take me to my Bible study classes, where I encourage the youth to consistently read the Bible. One of the points of reference is that first semester, a semester where I read the Bible every day and earned my highest GPA.
I didn’t tell my cousin that story, but I did leave him with a few words:
“Make sure you read your Bible every semester.”
-----------------------------------
“Lord, renew my spirit and my strength,” I prayed during the ride home.
I felt that I had more to do, despite the fact that it was around 1:30 a.m. in the morning.
The wind that whipped through the front windows of the car was the only answer.
-----------------------------------
“I just want to spend a little time with you, Kenton,” a voice said to me.
“There’s no one to be found. Not on the computer, not on the phone, not via text, anything, is there?”
No.
“I have some things I want to say to you.”
I turn off the computer, I turn off the TV and I pick up a nearby Bible.
Where do you want me to turn?
“Follow your heart.”
I close my eyes and flip through the pages until I land in the book of Psalms - Chapter 46.
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble,” verse one reads.
“Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth,” verse 10 offers.
Usually, I will turn to Isaiah for verses about the renewal of strength. However, I found peace in Chapter 46, which I followed with 47.
I sat for a while and then flipped some more pages to Chapter 51.
“Your heart.”
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit with me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation and uphold me with thy free spirit,” verses 10 and 11 read.
“This is what you requested in your prayer, yes?”
Yes.
“Relax. And read.”
Chapters 52, 55 and 56 are verses addressing how we should deal with foes - and presumed friends - that treat us adversely.
“And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest. Didn’t you say something like that earlier?”
But my equals - eagles - gun the runway in preparation to fly. It's not the same, but...
“David and you are similar. You are both writers, and the both of you have the ability to do a lot with a little. He was a person that dealt with same things you’re dealing with now. Learn from him…”
“Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?”
This verse - Psalm 56:8 - intrigues me as the Bible sits open. The following passages speak to trusting God, but the wording inspires me to write something more…
…hmmmmm. It’s time to do a lot with a little once more…
The moonlight bounced off of a black car that streaked through silence - Stevie Wonder’s “Rocket Love” yielded a failed attempt to find music on the radio, which encouraged me to turn off the radio.
It seemed that Friday night that everyone was busy or asleep - understandable, of course - but unfulfilling nonetheless.
Even ESPN did little to fill the evening - and then something spoke to me, something that made so much sense.
-----------------------------------
The night before, my second cousin asked if I knew of any Bible verses to share with him; an incoming freshman in college, he had some fears about the experience.
“God did not give us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and of a sound mind,” I told him - a response that encouraged him. It felt good to have that exchange with him, and I shared a few chapters with him this time around - Matthew 6, I Corinthians 13 and I John 4.
He asked about the Bible as he sat in his dorm room on a quiet evening - a scene that reminded me of my first semester in college. Scenes like that take me to my Bible study classes, where I encourage the youth to consistently read the Bible. One of the points of reference is that first semester, a semester where I read the Bible every day and earned my highest GPA.
I didn’t tell my cousin that story, but I did leave him with a few words:
“Make sure you read your Bible every semester.”
-----------------------------------
“Lord, renew my spirit and my strength,” I prayed during the ride home.
I felt that I had more to do, despite the fact that it was around 1:30 a.m. in the morning.
The wind that whipped through the front windows of the car was the only answer.
-----------------------------------
“I just want to spend a little time with you, Kenton,” a voice said to me.
“There’s no one to be found. Not on the computer, not on the phone, not via text, anything, is there?”
No.
“I have some things I want to say to you.”
I turn off the computer, I turn off the TV and I pick up a nearby Bible.
Where do you want me to turn?
“Follow your heart.”
I close my eyes and flip through the pages until I land in the book of Psalms - Chapter 46.
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble,” verse one reads.
“Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth,” verse 10 offers.
Usually, I will turn to Isaiah for verses about the renewal of strength. However, I found peace in Chapter 46, which I followed with 47.
I sat for a while and then flipped some more pages to Chapter 51.
“Your heart.”
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit with me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation and uphold me with thy free spirit,” verses 10 and 11 read.
“This is what you requested in your prayer, yes?”
Yes.
“Relax. And read.”
Chapters 52, 55 and 56 are verses addressing how we should deal with foes - and presumed friends - that treat us adversely.
“And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest. Didn’t you say something like that earlier?”
But my equals - eagles - gun the runway in preparation to fly. It's not the same, but...
“David and you are similar. You are both writers, and the both of you have the ability to do a lot with a little. He was a person that dealt with same things you’re dealing with now. Learn from him…”
“Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?”
This verse - Psalm 56:8 - intrigues me as the Bible sits open. The following passages speak to trusting God, but the wording inspires me to write something more…
…hmmmmm. It’s time to do a lot with a little once more…
posted by The Good Doctor at 3:13 AM
0 comments
