A Beautiful Moment

The heat was unbearable.  At least for me.

I suffer each March and April in this house with no central air.  We are at the mercy of the climate.  March and April are the hottest months of the year in Guatemala.  They call it "summer".

So at 4:30am I could feel the sticky, wet hair clinging to the back of my neck and I just knew that my night was over and that the last hope of sleep had slipped out of my grasp like grains of sand.

I got up to put the coffee on and to read my Bible. 

Hey, at least I would get some quality time with the Lord in before the rest of the household began to stir.

I tiptoed through the house and down to the kitchen.  As silently as possible I filled the coffee pot and then stood near anticipating the rich flavor as the unique aroma of Guatemalan coffee began to invade my senses.  Sleep had left me long ago, but it was now that I was really beginning to wake up.

Finally I carried my warm cup of coffee to my spot on the couch and settled in to read.  Not one chapter had gone by when the delicous quiet of morning was interrupted by the patter of Little feet. 

Do children have a 6th sense that tells them when you have gotten up early specifically to avoid them, or what?!?!?!?!

My five-year-old appeared with a huge smile and snuggled up to me.  I admonished him to lay down .  I pointed out that it was still "night time".  I encouraged him to close his eyes, be quiet, AND LET ME READ MY BIBLE. 

But it was not to be.  He wiggled.  He chatted.  He finally sat up and declared that he wanted to read his Bible too.

After finding his Bible full of bright pictures he settled down again to "read". 

He glanced over at me almost as if to ask permission.  "I am going to read with my voice.  Not in my head like you."

It makes sense.  He can't even read yet, much less read silently.

So with a sigh I struggled to keep concentrating on the Apostle Paul's writings while a too-loud-for-this-time-of-day voice began to narrate the story of Noah based on the pictures.

At first I felt frustrated.  How could it be that I woke up an hour early to read my Bible and once again my plans were foiled?  How could it be that already my parenting duties had begun...AND I HADN'T EVEN GOTTEN THROUGH MY FIRST CUP OF COFFEE YET!  How could MY morning and MY routine be so rudely interrupeted. Yet. Again.

Almost as if someone was gently tapping me on the shoulder I felt His presence.  I felt as if God Himself sat down on that sofá with us at 5am.  HE was pleased. 

God's presence did not fill the room to overflowing with my selfish attempts to seek God MY way on My terms at the time convenient to Me.  God's presence came gently in to hear the voice of a 5-year-old who was seeking God with a sincere heart and struggling to remember the words.

It was a beautiful moment.