The Side Of The Bed

There is a place, a holy place that we tend to overlook.
Holy places are often quite ordinary.
Holy places are usually found among the common.
Something is holy simply because God sets it apart.

It was during my own prayer time that I thought about this holy place.
It was as I was praying for each of my children that it came to mind.
It was a place where I sat each night.
It was a place I never really considered holy until it was no longer a part of my daily routine.

The holy place, the sanctified place is easily missed when you are not looking for it.
The holy place is missed when you do not have eyes to see.
God designed it that way.
God turns the most common thing into a holy place simply because He is there with us.

The holy place that came to mind is the side of the bed.

Each night as I tucked my children in and pulled the covers up under their chin, I sat there.
There on the side of the bed, I sang to them each night.
There on the side of the bed, I read to them each night.
There on the side of the bed, I prayed with them each night.

It was a hallowed place.
And I never knew.
It was a holy place.
And it was just part of our nighttime routine.

On the side of the bed, I heard their thoughts.
On the side of the bed, I heard their fears.
On the side of the bed, I heard their dreams.
On the side of the bed, I watched them sleep.

I knew their breaths.
I sat there many long nights through fevers and bad coughs.
I sat there many long nights when thunderstorms shut off all the electricity.
I sat there with a flashlight making shapes on the ceiling, dispelling the darkness.

I remember sitting on the side of the bed of my youngest child during a thunderstorm.
I knew the moon outside was almost full.
I opened her blinds and we marveled at the light of the moon.
She was afraid of the darkness.

Just look towards the light, I said pointing towards her opened blinds.
Look at God’s flashlight! I said, as we sat there in quiet awe of the moon.
The side of the bed became a place of peace.
The side of the bed became a place of comfort.

There were many backs scratched on the side of the bed.
There were many cold cloths placed across hot foreheads on the side of the bed.
There were many giggles and laughter on the side of the bed.
There was life happening on the side of the bed.

A holy place in the most ordinary of places.
I never knew.
I never even guessed.
God was in the ordinary as we were living it.

So many conversations happened on the side of the bed.
Hearts were sealed together on the side of the bed.
It may have been part of the nighttime routine, but it was a sacred place.
In the shadows of the night, there was a glimmer of light that shone on the side of the bed.

How I wish I had paid attention.
How I wish I had taken note of the last time we sang a song on the side of the bed.
The last time we sang a song together before they got too old.
The last time we read through our favorite books before they wanted to read in bed by themselves.

There were firsts and they were noted.
There were lasts and they came like a thief.
The side of the bed is still there.
The imprint of that special time is somewhere underneath the comforters.

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian,  and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There an angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight – why the bush does not burn up.” When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:1-5)

Take off your sandals.
The place where you are standing is holy ground.
An ordinary bush was holy.
Something ordinary was holy because God was there.

Look, really look, at the side of the bed.
Ordinary life is happening there.
Don’t miss it!
Take time to marvel.

Look at the side of the bed.
Take off your shoes.
Place them carefully on the floor.
The place where you are standing is holy ground.

God is there.