Shucking Corn and Singing Scripture
Some days just don’t seem to have enough hours, and Monday was one of those days. As usual, I had WAY too many activities on the day’s agenda: washing and line drying the laundry, assisting with the lawn-mowing chores, tending to the hedges, blanching and freezing a few dozen ear of corn, and posting a children’s story for the week. My feet hit the floor running at the break of dawn, for I was determined to get a head start on the day’s activities. But it was then that a buzz on my cell phone added a bit of turmoil to an already overcrowded day. The text was a reminder of an early appointment for some blood work, an appointment that had completely slipped my mind. Yikes, with a quick change of clothes, I was in the car and on my way to the appointment. When I arrived home an hour later, my well-planned schedule was a mess and I set about on a fierce game of catch up.
By the noon hour, I found my strength waning, and the last thing I wanted to do was to prep that stack of corn for freezing. I lugged those cobs out onto the deck, along with a garbage can for the discarded husks and a basket to hold the cleaned corn. It would be just another mundane chore in a day full of chores, until God broke through my weary spirit, provided an oasis of respite, and infused a bit of joy into my day.
God had impressed upon me to grab my Scripture cards on the way out the door. When I teach youngsters a Bible verse, I generally put the verse to music as a mnemonic device, a means of encoding that verse onto their young hearts. The Scripture reference is printed in bold font on one side of the sheet of card stock, with the music for the verse on the reverse side. God knew that His child was weary, so He hatched a plan for me…for each ear of corn to be shucked, I would sing a different verse, repeating it aloud until all the silk on that cob was removed and it was completely clean. Then I would place that card at the bottom of the stack and sing the next verse, working my way through the entire stack. My crooning certainly entertained my herd of outside kitties, but it did more than that. The entrance of HIS Word gave light, just as promised.
God’s Word is truly miraculous! As I sat on my deck that noon hour, complete with sticky fingers laden with corn silk, singing through those verses over and over, I caught a glimpse of the joy that a young shepherd boy must have experienced as he sat in solitude tending his father’s flocks while singing praises to his God. I understood the words of a psalmist who was also in need of a lift, whose “soul cleaveth to the dust,” as he besought his Creator to “quicken (him) according to thy word,” and God responded to his request and caused him “to hope.” That’s what God’s Word does for us…it quickens, cleanses, enlightens, encourages, convicts, and comforts. God’s holy, inspired Word is “faithful…settled in heaven…sweeter than honey to my mouth.” It is a powerful, Satan-defeating tool, freely available to His children!
“The entrance of (God’s) words giveth life,” even when we are doing the simplest, most mundane of tasks. As those Scripture verses plowed up the hard soil of my heart on that warm, summer afternoon, I could smile in agreement with some precious words penned so many centuries ago: “O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.”
Are you need of some peace and contentment in your heart today? “Great peace have they which love thy law,” is the promise available to you. Find a way to incorporate some Bible memory into your busy schedule today and your heart will truly stand “in awe of (His) word,” as you rejoice in the personal words of your Father to you.
Psalm 119:11 Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
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