When Hope Means Turning the Couch Around
A story of a couch, a COVID-19 diagnosis, and hope. Also, a chance to win something at the very end, so keep reading!And I am working on a new project. Check it out at the end of this post.
But first, the couch.
The first thing I did was turn the couch around.
It seemed like a small decision at the time. When my husband Kevin and I were diagnosed with COVID-19 in January, I pulled open the blinds on our front window and positioned the furniture, so we had a view of the neighborhood.
The next day I hung up a hummingbird feeder. Two male hummingbirds raged a turf war over the feeder, their iridescent green throats glistening in the Arizona sun. A few days later, a family member purchased a sock filled with thistle seeds—an attractant for songbirds—which we strung from the tree near the window. A pair of house finches kept a wary eye on the neighborhood cat population as the birds flitted among the branches.
While we monitored symptoms, we sat on the couch and chatted with friends on the other side of the closed window when they dropped off food. Homemade vegetable soup. Turkey stew. Tangy orange chicken and rice. We waved and smiled at delivery people who came with orders of pajama pants and flower bouquets. Surrounded by comfy pillows and blankets, we nestled into the couch for a few restorative naps.
Obviously, we had chairs in other parts of the house, but we found ourselves returning again and again to the couch with a view of a world beyond our grasp. As days stretched into weeks and a fever lingered, I found myself on the couch in the darkness one predawn morning, remembering the somber stories of others who had waged war against this nasty virus, some who had not survived. The walls of fear and isolation closed in, robbing my very breath as my heart pounded a suffocating tempo out my ribcage.
Forget birds, smiles, waves, and deliveries. Why had I been foolish enough to turn the couch around to a full view of the darkness? In a panic, I opened the curtains a little wider in hopes of glimpsing a bit of light. I saw none.
I whispered the words from Isaiah 58:6 ESV, Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
I peered again into the night, hoping to catch the rhythm of dawn breaking forth. I waited. As a witness. I felt the prayers of those who had gone before, who had also waited for the morning. With eyes searching the east, the first golden light appeared above my neighbor’s frosted roofline. Yellow beams stretched across the horizon, melting the suffocation of gripping anxiety. My panic eased.
I knew without any doubt I was not alone. I also knew the decision to turn the couch around to face the outside world was not so small after all.
The couch became a tangible symbol of hope, that one day soon, we will all return to a life beyond the walls.
This post recently appeared in the SanTan Sun News.
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What I Am Reading:
Read to the end, because there a chance for something free!!
Prayer in the Night: For Those Who Work or Watch or Weep
This book arrived during my COVID quarantine and it was the breath of prayer I needed in the long nights when I was afraid. Tish Harrison Warren, an Anglican priest, writes that sometimes we do not have the words to pray on our own. In those situations, we can speak the liturgies of the church, the scriptures, and the prayers of the saints. The chapters are divided by the nightime prayer of Compline, an Anglican tradition. As a non-Anglican, I did not find the emphasis confusing or off-putting, but found comfort in the words.
For me, Chapter 4: Those Who Watch, is reason alone to purchase the book, as Tish talks of dark nights and watching for the Kingdom of God in hard places. "As Christians," Tish writes, "we take up watching as a practice - a task even. We stay on the lookout for grace. We proclaim that even in the deepest darkness there is One we can trust who will not leave us." I love the thought of being a lookout for grace. I also appreciated thoughts on our craving for beauty and wonder in times of hardship, something I found to be true.
Tish writes, "But in the times when we think anguish and dimness are all there is in the world, that nothing is lovely or solid, beauty is a reminder that there is more to our stories than sin, pain and death. There is eternal brilliance." This. Yes.
This book is a solid A rating for me. What a lifeline in the night as I sat on the couch and watched for morning.
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Verse Mapping Bible
As a Bible Journaler, I was excited to receive a free copy of the Verse Mapping Bible for review. Many people in my Bible Journaling group are not interested in sketching or doodling, but want to focus deeply on the words. I can't wait to talk about this Bible to my group of word lovers of The Word!! Keep reading, because there is a chance to sign up to win a copy!!
Bible Description from the Publisher (Lots of details, but worth the read if you never have heard of verse mapping!)
Go beyond just reading the Bible.
Verse mapping means getting real about studying the Bible. More than simply reading a verse or Scripture passage, verse mapping means using Bible study tools to research what you’ve just read in the Bible—to learn more about what God is saying to you and how you can apply his Word to your life today.
In the NIV Verse Mapping Bible, author Kristy Cambron expands her verse mapping curriculum series to include verses from the entire Bible, showing you how to compare Bible translations, pick out meaningful words, and delve into the true meaning of each verse using starter verse maps and prompts. Verse mapping will help you study the historical context, transliteration, translation, connotation, and theological framework of a verse. This unique study technique includes exploring Hebrew and Greek word studies, finding connections in Scripture, comparing Bible translations, and learning as much as you can from your time in God’s Word.
The NIV Verse Mapping Bible includes 350 partially completed verse maps to get you started
Verse mapping involves five steps:
Choose: Select a verse and write it out.
Compare: Record this verse in two or three other Bible translations and underline key words that are the same or different between translations.
Research: Look up the Hebrew or Greek meaning for the underlined words and record it.
Consider: Ask questions of the verse. Imagine what it would be like to have experienced what’s happening. Read the verses surrounding this verse and use other study tools to dig even deeper, if you prefer.
Apply: What is God saying to you? How does this verse relate to your life today?
Purchase at https://versemapping.com/.
As a lover of words and The Word, this is an A for me.
A peek inside:
Did you get that!! You can sign up to win a free copy. Click the link above.
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Beginning in March, I will be sending out a monthly letter to those on my mailing list. As the title suggests, it will be an invitation to celebrate this beautiful life. Wonder(full) will include photography, short reflections, and a list of adventures to discover beauty and wonder where you live. The March edition will include thoughts on celebrating the first day of spring, going on a walk during the full moon, and will include the secret for local Arizonans to witness the Cougar's Shadow. Sign up here. Only those on my mailing list will receive this content.