One summer we put hardwood floors in much of the downstairs of our house. In the days before the installers came, the furniture was taken out and baseboards removed.
I sat on the floor with my Bible and found well-worn pages. I thought I’d copy just a few verses on the old linoleum and particleboard, but wound up staying late into the night. There were many promises that had been important to me--among them, verses God had given me when I had cancer, when my mother was dying, and when my children were babies. Scripture rolled across my memory from thirty years of walking with the Lord. I didn’t know where to stop. I continued to write across the the sometimes ragged places made so by the prep work for the new floors.
As I stood in the empty space the evening before installation began, I knew there was one more thing I wanted to do.
The rest of the family added verses the next morning, too. When the workers came, hardly a square yard of floor space remained blank.
It’s a comforting thought to know that when I’m loading the dishwasher, chopping onions, eating with my family, playing the piano, or just spending time with the Lord, I’m literally standing on the promises of God’s word. The pictures here are just a partial view of the scripture underneath the hardwoods now.
In Deuteronomy 11:20, Moses tells the Israelites to write God’s words “…on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates…”
In Deuteronomy 11:20, Moses tells the Israelites to write God’s words “…on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates…”
We heard an interesting story at pastor's school this year, that may have originated with D. L. Moody. It was about a young man who received a Bible that was passed on from a relative. The young man began studying the Bible and found on so many pages the letters, T. and P. Page after page--T.P. He couldn't imagine what those letters stood for,. When he finally saw the relative again and asked her about it, she told him those letters beside the verses meant tried and proven. She had tested those verses and found them to be true.
It's been more than a dozen years since we wrote the verses on the floor and it still brings me comfort to know they are there, because at this house, we are still standing on the promises. And like the floors, we've had ragged places in our lives, too, but across them we have written the promises of God and found Him faithful in all circumstances.
And if anyone ever pulls up the floor boards they can be assured the verses written under them are tried and proven.
(edited repost)
Beverly Varnado is the author of several small town romances from Anaiah Press including her latest, A Season for Everything. All are available at Amazon. A memoir, Faith in the Fashion District, from Crosslink Publishing is also available as well as her other books, Give My Love to the Chestnut Trees and Home to Currahee. She also has an Etsy Shop, Beverly Varnado Art.
To explore the web version of One Ringing Bell, please visit bev-oneringingbell.blogspot.com
Beverly Varnado copyright 2022