A few years back I was reading in the devotional, Jesus Calling and the verse, Psm. 37:3 was one of the verses I meditated on this morning in particular.
"Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture."
DWELL.
ENJOY SAFE PASTURE.
Over the years, we had kept our spare bedroom downstairs pretty much empty....
Sure, it's had a sewing machine in it at one time, my grandma's antique tea cart, and of course, the bags of clothing to go to goodwill...but we've never set it up as a 'guest bedroom.’
...never a bed, never hung much on the walls, just leaving it empty in hopes of one day filling it up with a sweet little baby.
But, we had been thinking about it on that particular day and we thought we may be ready to set it up as a guest bedroom. It was time to. Our hearts desire was to have a baby of our own and we continued praying for the Lord's guidance on the timing of fertility treatments.
I was at lunch the Saturday after reading that scripture with a sweet friend from school. My friend, Erika is always bright and cheery...from her laid back FUN personality to the clothes she wears. We have a BALL together! She laughs at all my jokes...even when they are borderline unfunny. #truefriend
I was talking to my mom on the phone while I was with my friend and mom knew we were looking for a bed for the guest room. She had found a great antique bed with brand new mattresses and box springs and it was a super great deal, but she was out of town and needed to know if she should buy it for us. Back then, I still had that twinge of a thought about...but, what if we get pregnant this month? What will we do with the bed? Should we just keep it empty? All of these thoughts, (shallow thoughts I might add) came bombarding me.. I thought...no, we are going to live in the present...the right now. It's the same feeling I felt when I pulled out our nice flatware that we got for wedding presents... Why aren’t we using this?
And, so I thought, why not? Why would I leave an empty bedroom as a constant reminder that our arms are not full of what we desire? Why not fill that room with a bed, flowers, and beautiful pictures on the wall, so our family can come and stay with us?.....Why not dwell and enjoy safe pasture?
On that specific day, Erika even said...”you don't even know how God can use you to bless someone who can come to stay with you in that room?”
So, that week, back in 2011, I cleaned out the room...moved things out and organized things. God provided an awesome price on the bed and that empty room was filled with a double bed and mattress that visitors could enjoy and we could as well.
Yes, that was it. That is what we did. We would dwell...resting..residing...staying where God is...right here and now...not the past...not the future...not of what might be...we were dwelling in the place God has placed us. I was looking to filling up that room with beauty and joy.
That room was a symbol of dwelling, resting, and staying where God had placed us at that time. 10 months later, we were able to welcome our baby boy and transform that meaningful guest room into a nursery. God calls us to dwell, rest, to enjoy safe pasture in Him, not when your prayers are answered, but in the waiting, in the growing, in the ‘when your prayers are not answered in the timing you thought’, not in anything else than Him. And, I’m so grateful for God who has gifted us LIFE and to experience LIFE to the full!
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10
More about my story on the Friends of a Feather Podcast Episode 50