The Lord used that time in Curtain to challenge me physically as the walks back and forth got my body back into shape while developing self-discipline. But the greater challenge was a mental one since the house didn’t have internet. Usually this didn’t bother me since I walked to town at least twice a day [1]to check email, but it made nights pretty frustrating.
Like most of you after a long day of work I enjoy relaxing, and the Internets a big part of that
- I use it to watch sports or news [2]
- Check news websites
- Communicate with friends through social media like Facebook
- Listen to music
- or enjoy something on Netflix
to be perfectly honest without the use of wifi I had no clue how to relax for the first week! However the Lord since then has shown me it is indeed possible to live without internet.
Around 7:00 on day three lack of internet was making frustrated (and to be honest in a pretty bad mood) when I remembered a copy of “the Lord Of the Rings” trilogy was downloaded on my laptop. So I started reading a few chapters into the second book and quickly found myself extremely interested.
Since that night I was able to download the book on my Ipad (makes reading easier) and finished that trilogy along with David Copperfield [3], “Kidnapped“by Robert Louis Stevenson, and started through “Uncle Toms Cabin”. I’ve also been able to finish “A Pursuit of Holiness” and “Respectable Sins” by Jerry Bridges, while reading half of a recent book “Good Faith.”
At first I read those books because to quite honest there wasn’t much else to do for entertainment, however soon I continued reading them (and others) because of the way that they touched me emotionally. Over the last few weeks I’ve sat weeping on my porch more than once, and laughed hysterically quite a few times because of the treasures in those stories.
Somewhere during that time reading became my response to frustration or weariness…not because it was the only choice…but because I knew it would speak to my heart.
Last Thursday I felt blah from morning till about three [4]in the past my responses to these days was to lay down on the bed and watch Netflix, but on Thursday my sickness led to finishing “Respectable Sins” and starting another book. While there’s definitely something to be said for getting rest when we aren’t feeling well, I truly believe those books do more by ministering to my heart.
Last Monday I got internet at the new rental fast enough to stream, FaceTime, and post all day long. But when weariness comes I pray it will drive me to books that nurture my soul instead of just simple entertainment.
- once in the morning, and once in the late afternoon ↩
- by the way there was no television either ↩
- technically I cheated on this one since most of it was listened to as an audiobook but it still counts 🙂 ↩
- Nausea and tiredness probably from a few exceptionally hot days last week and walking back and forth from Barrouallie ↩
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