The Lake

I don't know about you, but I 'have' a few places I love to go and be alone with the Lord. My favorite place this year is a lake in the middle of my neighborhood. God has spoken to me more consistently and clearly while walking around that 10 acre little lake/ big pond than any other geographical location. It's surrounded by the backyards of a bunch of the houses in my neighborhood, with a two-person sidewalk around the body of water. There are two areas that are covered with woods, a few wooden bridges, a couple benches, a picnic table, and two dock-type walks perfectly distributed around it. There are a few families of ducks and geese that are always around, turtles that jump off little branches when you walk by them, and it's a good 10 minutes away from the OU campus, so the stars are just a little bit brighter out here.

I wish I could count the times I've walked around this thing (I've worn out the soles of what were brand new shoes 7 months ago). I wish I could tell you all of the amazing things God has done to me while hanging out around this lake. I've literally seen trees clap their hands in worship of their Creator on command. I've seen people break down and watched as chains fell off captives. I've been praying for people and they've called me two seconds after I'm done (this happens quite a bit). 

As I've said before, the 9th of every month has had quite a bit of significance- on November 9th I walked out there into the foggiest Friday I'd ever seen. I could barely see 10 feet in front of me. I felt the Lord say, "You have to choose this. Choose the fog. Even when you can see for miles, choose to see only this much. I want to be Present with you into this millisecond all the time, every day." Later that day, it was the warmest day of November, with a beautiful blue sky and a clarity to the colors and visibility that was unavoidable. 

The next '9th', of December, An ice storm hit that Norman, Tulsa, etc. hadn't seen in over a decade. Trees fell and destroyed cars and houses, blocked off countless roads, and covered everything, making the world look like some kind of 'Day After Tomorrow' still shot. I went walking around my lake that morning, asking God for something new to go with this timely storm. He and I started around the sidewalk that follows the lake, and for 'some reason,' I looked to my right that morning at this perfect spot, and saw a clearing. I thought, "Holy Crap (I say that a lot), I've walked this trail countless times, and I've never seen this clearing." This clearing turned into a brand new trail I'd never noticed, which led to a beautiful, flowing river/creek thing that was rushing with melted ice. The trees were coated and frozen, but this river was rushing and loud. It was as if the Lord was screaming, "I will lead you by still waters to rest your soul. And even though the river may take you under, you can rest because I know exactly what I'm doing. I waited to let your eyes see this trail until this perfect time. Trust my perfect timing."

Well, that's the lake. Here are other special places I've come to love during the past 7 months (not in order):

My room (turned Prayer Room)

My closet (a 2' by 3' claustrophobic's nightmare)

My car

Lake Thunderbird (where random people's underwear and beer cans decorate the scenery)

Blake Slatten's hot tub

'The Loft' (On Sunday nights when the Mozambique Team is there alone in the dark)

The Refuge (crackhouse turned houseofprayer in OKC)

'the upper room' in the Refuge (random loft above a bathroom in the Refuge)

California Street in OKC (drugs, homeless, gangs: where Jesus loves to hang)

The prayer room at the D-house

Sidewalks all over Norman

Fireplace in my House

On the rocky, muddy field by my Gramps' barn in Arkansas

-to name a few. Maybe I'll post a story per location on another post or something.