The House
by Mary Katherine May
co-owner of www.QualityMusicandBooks.com
host of www.TheHouseUnited.blogspot.com (Northwest Cable 19)
co-owner of www.QualityMusicandBooks.com
host of www.TheHouseUnited.blogspot.com (Northwest Cable 19)
My first choice for the title of this article was “Toilets and Tornadoes.” I certainly would have caught your attention!
Let’s think upon what “regularly” means. As a piano teacher it didn’t take me 25 years to discover that when students said, “I practiced” or “I practiced a little” could cover anywhere from “I glanced at the piano as I walked by” to “I put my 30 minutes in every day.” When regular practice did commence the student was always amazed at how much pleasure playing the piano could give. What about Bible study? Does it mean having a Bible present in your home, or does your definition include the words “every day”?
Psalm 127:1 begins, “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” Each of us is a home in which God resides. I invite you to look up 1Corinthians 6:19. We are the active builders with God holding the Master plan. It is far too easy, however, to be out on a long lunch and leave building for another day.
May 6, 1965 is the date of the worst tornado activity in Minnesota’s recorded history. Two of the five tornadoes that struck, rated as F4, went through Fridley where my family lived. It was an important day—because that night was the science fair at the Junior High School where I was in the seventh grade and my brother in the ninth. This is where we were when the first tornado came down, producing major damage to our school.
Whole neighborhoods of homes were destroyed. What struck me, though, was that in many the only room left standing was the bathroom in the middle of the house because it had no outside walls. There is an analogy here, and it is this: Everything around you can be uprooted and torn down, your body can be tormented with pain and suffering, yet your very center—the core, the soul can be A-okay because God is in-residence.
In the Old Testament books of Ezra and Nehemiah, the story of the restoration of Jerusalem is told. What was first rebuilt was the altar—the very center of our worship. It is the same with us—our souls where the Holy Spirit resides is at the very center of our being. It is who and what we are as Children of God. Our souls can be nourished by the Living Word, or they can be starved for lack of food. It has to do with how you define the word “regular.”
This month I am asking you to begin attending a Bible study. I am asking you to meditate upon God’s word at home. Then, when the storms come and destruction is all about, you will still be able to say, “it is well with my soul,” and live in peace.
Suggested for meditation: Psalm 127, 1Corinthians 6: 19, Matthew 7: 24-27
