Enlightenment

Despite the encouragement she had received the last few days Mary found herself a bit depressed. It was still not settled in her soul whether or not she and Robin were to move to Windsor. The words of the visiting evangelist at church on Sunday kept ringing in her ears repeating themselves that: “the manifestation of God, the glory of God, was going to be seen in Windsor”. It was like a voice whispering and calling her to go to Windsor.
It was during prayer time the next day she read the sweet comfort of Deuteronomy 33:27 that “the eternal God is our refuge and dwelling place, and underneath us are the everlasting arms; he drives out the enemy before us.” Added to this notion of God as the dwelling place or home came the words of John that “God is light and in him there is no darkness at all”. Mary was certainly in the dark about what to do. She reminded herself of another passage of John that said He was “the true light that enlightened everyone.”
She certainly needed direction this morning and felt God did speak through a passage of scripture in Joshua where she was reading. She had come to the passage in chapter 18 where Joshua rebuked seven tribes of the Israelites. They had conquered the Promised Land but had slacked off and not taken possession of it. Joshua ordered the people to go in and survey the land, map it into seven sections and he would draw lots to see who got what.
Mary was so excited when she read this because she realized perhaps her and Robin’s answer was here in the text. Perhaps they needed to be more specific about where they wanted to move to. Perhaps they, too, had to go in and survey the land, map it and draw lots to see which area in particular in Windsor God wanted them to move to.
Mary couldn’t wait to share this with Robin on the way into work during their prayer time. That ride into work proved a bit nerve wracking to begin with as a thick fog covered the fields and trees as they drove along. “This is the thickest fog I think I have ever seen”, Mary said to Robin. She didn’t want him to see how edgy it was making her feel so she focused on prayer and the new revelation from scripture.
Robin was not only agreeable to casting lots but felt in his heart that one area stood out: Parent Street and Howard. Mary was familiar with Howard but didn’t know of Parent. She would have to check it out on a map. As they shared and prayed about this decision to cast lots about where they should relocate to a wonderful sight caught Mary and Robin’s attention: it was an awesome scene.
You see, as they drove towards Windsor, the sun came through just a little and before them the foggy mist that had been so dark even through headlights took on a glow. It is hard to explain but as they meandered along, off to their left, it was like a flashlight from heaven shone down through the fog. It seemed to create a beam of light only in one slim column of the mist. It lightened up that stretch of Walker Road almost all the way to Windsor.
And in her head Mary was reminded of the passage that “signs and wonders follow”. The key word there was “follow”. This light in the fog was a sign. It followed the direction Mary felt God was taking them to – somewhere in Windsor. That somewhere He would show them.
Mary found a new hope and excitement rise up inside her at the revelation and sign. After driving Robin to work she stopped on Howard to pick up a bird house she had seen that someone had thrown out. It was too good to pass up.
Looking at the little wooden bird house suddenly made Mary laugh! It wasn’t just a bird house, but a home! She smiled when she thought of that and laughed heartily when she thought of her husband’s name, Robin. “Its Robin’s house,” Mary remarked to herself and added” How delightful is that?”
It, too, seemed to be a sign pointing towards them finding a new habitat. What began as a rather dismal depressing day turned into a day of rejoicing. Mary didn’t know where it would lead but found it very exciting. She couldn’t wait for her and Robin to check out the different areas of Windsor, map them out and draw lots to see which area God was directing them to. How intimate was that with both her husband and God? She couldn’t wait. A new day had dawned and a new home somewhere down the road – in Windsor- awaited them.