A Watchful Watchtower

With my devotions this morning, I find myself with my Bible in the Old Testament laughing out loud at the images in my mind t he Scripture are bringing, as if the Bible is mocking me and who I need to be right now.

Ezekiel and the watchman. A spiritual dedication to sharing and caring the news of God’s love and expectations. As the watchman, I always saw Ezekiel sequestered in a high place, uninterrupted, hearing from God and reading God’s word with relish and time. He had serious alone time with God.

I seriously do not.

I feel as if all parts of life crowd in on my day to take more chunks of my time, my devotional time. I do not have a high and silent place to languish for hours wrapped in the truths and teachings of God. I’ve got young hands cramming notes under my door with scrawled notes and requests, childhood contracts of expectations or expression. It feels like minutes sometimes with God, brief, fleeting. In the same reality, I cannot have a God-honoring day without spending time with Him. Some people you don’t want to meet until they’ve had their coffee…you really don’t want to see me unless I’ve been with Jesus. I am not as loving or understanding of a wife, as flexible and forgiving as a mother, as creative or vision-filled leader without my quiet time. Days that do not start with the careful hemming attention from Jesus always come unraveled in a tirade of frustration, loss of patience or quick discouragement. Sure I can get to end of 24 hours without losing it, but usually it could be a cynical, mouthy, careless conversation girl you meet. Frequently, my time with God has to come in the pre-dawn hours, and even then, it is filled with prayers for these young and growing hearts.

I am seeing myself perched high in this watchtower Like Elijah, yet I am not alone, observing all these loved ones dangling from the lofty support system. I am not in a place in my life that I can abandon them all to care for themselves while I am behind closed doors for the sake of being close to God. Hockey sticks in hand. First aid kit for the most recent boo-boo. Library books to be found. Teenage moodiness. Needing new shoes. Signed permission slips. “Moooooom, he said this…” Questions about God. Golf team matches. Piano lessons. Scholarship paperwork. Homework.

My devotional time can just as easily evolve into sermon preparation, or for research in an exegetical paper. Neither of these are the deep well of connection with God.

My time with God is frequently devotion in action, praying together as a blessing before catching school bus. Asking forgiveness when I am hurtful or wrong. Stopping and watching a rainbow together. Meeting new friends and teachers.

At the beginning of the day I fill a bowl with water and keep it at the sink counter, reminding me of the fullness God has for my day. I don’t empty it until the end of the day, thanking God for his power and presence in everything I needed to do. My daily tasks, home and office, can easily take over and dictate my time. I cannot allow them to. I have to start my day hand in hand with Jesus, living out the hymn, “He walks with me and He talks with me.”

So with this watchtower in mind, I make a quick trip up with a careful eye given all around these dangling loved ones attached to this watchtower with me.

I pray God blesses you today, quietly yet physically answering your prayers, reaffirming your faith, addressing your need and preparing you for the gift He has for you.