Ebenezer by Emily Owen

 

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“Are you going to do it again?”

Last weekend, I was at a conference. During worship, I usually sing-in-sign, as I am deaf. As we sang the first song, I was aware of a girl (8) beside me, copying my sign language. It was beautiful. When it came to the second song, I felt a hand tap me. I looked down, and she whispered;

“Are you going to do it again?”

I bent down:

“Yes I am. Are you going to do it with me?”

She nodded.

God is Faithful (Deuteronomy 7:9)

I remember writing God’s Calling Cards, a book that combines personal testimony, Bible thoughts, and meditations.

With the deadline about a week away, I had a manuscript with a glaring gap. All chapters in the book were to end with a meditation. And all but one did.

During the days that followed, none of my usual inspiration go-tos helped.

I walked in the park, I took bubble baths, I ate chocolate.

And the gap remained.

The night before the deadline arrived. I can vividly see myself sitting at my desk at around 10pm, staring at the gap on my screen.

At the eleventh hour, I did get the inspiration I needed* but, looking back, wouldn’t it have been good if I’d had the wisdom of an eight year old?

“Are you going to do it again?”

Expectation.

God had helped me write the meditations in the rest of the book. 

I knew that.

Ebenezer: 'Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.' (1 Samuel 7:12)

“Are you going to do it again, God?”

Bringing Him into my writing.

“Yes I Am. Are you going to do it with Me?”

God is Faithful.

The One who has helped us is the One who does and will help us.

My little sign language buddy could have decided not to follow my signing.

Perhaps others would have told her not to.

Or she’d have felt she wasn’t quite keeping up.

Or she’d have become discouraged.

Or she’d have become distracted.

Or she’d have decided to go and sit elsewhere.

Yet she didn’t.

She focussed on the one she wanted to follow.

“Are you going to do it again?”

“Yes I am. Are you going to do it with me?”

Ebenezer.

 

*Voices surround me,

blurring to noise as

they compete for my attention.

Telling me

what I should be,

what I shouldn’t be,

what I need,

what I don’t need.

I don’t know how they know,

but they seem so sure.

So confident.

They scare me.

Like wolves, they circle me,

licking their lips,

telling me if I follow them

my fear will go.

I will be what I should be,

I will have what I need.

My feet won’t move.

I’m too scared.

The voices surrounding me

fade to nothing

at my Shepherd’s call.

I’m safe.

Copyright © 2019 Emily Owen