O'Dark-Thirty

Saturday morning I woke at four am. No way, not on a weekend. I rolled over, cuddled further into the blankets and closed my eyes. No use. I couldn’t go back to sleep. I gave up and crawled out from under my warm blankets. As I slipped into my robe, I noticed my husband still snuggled in and obviously sound asleep. Must be nice. I grumbled all the way out to the kitchen.

While the coffee brewed, I let the dog out and stood in the doorway. No birds, not even a moon, just lots of stars. Everything and everyone was asleep - but me. Even the dog went back to bed.

I took my coffee to my sitting room. My first sip of the hot liquid started that darn tooth to throbbing again. Well, maybe more of an ache. Since my dentist visit, my mouth felt tender, especially an old crown. It had not bothered me until he poked and prodded. Unfortunately, I also had a cracked tooth. It needed immediate attention and without dental insurance, I could only afford one crown at a time. Obviously the broken tooth had priority. The old crown would just have to wait, but when it became sensitive, I worried about an abscess.

My first reading that morning: Hosea 6: 1: In their affliction they will rise early to me…I laughed in spite of still feeling incensed at getting up at O’Dark-Thirty on a Saturday morning.

I paged to my next listed reading. My Bible fell open to Judith 10: 3.
And she washed her body, and anointed herself with the best ointment, plaited her hair, and put a bonnet on her head, and clothed herself with the garments of her gladness, and put sandals on her feet, and took her bracelets, and lilies, and earrings and rings, and adorned herself with all her ornaments.

Lilies – God’s personal promise of financial rescue...Consider the lilies of the field....Luke 12:27.

My next reading, Psalm 103 went a step further. Verse 3: Who forgives all your inequities: who heals all your diseases. Coincidence or promise?

The Gospel reading quoted Luke 18: 27: All things are possible with God.

I wanted to believe.

Later that day another interesting coincidence occurred. In a crime novel by one of my favorite suspense authors, one character tells another if you have only a little money, buy bread and then lilies. Really?

The next morning my devotions included Mark 9:23: Everything is possible for him who believes.

That evening my tooth felt less sensitive and sometime during the night it quit aching. When I awoke the next morning before the alarm - at O’Dark-Thirty - again, I didn’t complain. I hoped out of bed and hurried into my sitting room. The meditation in Streams in the Desert for that day: See how the lilies of the field grow… Matthew 6: 28.

Now, weeks later, I am still out of pain and I know the money will be there when I really need it. I have His promise.