“”… he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear [and worship] the Lord his God [with awe-filled reverence and profound respect]…”
Deuteronomy 17:18-19AMP
Her name was Dana. We struck up a random conversation one rainy September morning in Terminal E over a cancelled flight. With hours to spare, we headed to Chili’s and talked as if we were old friends. Somewhere along the way I pulled out my favorite purple Bible. It was the one I carried the most. She asked me more questions than I’d been asked by anyone in a long time, and I was thankful to have pages of sermon notes scribbled in the margins for reference.
Back at the gate, we continued our dialogue, and as I continued answering her questions, she kept leaning in closer and closer to see what I was reading from. I told her about David, Ruth, Esther, and Daniel. On and on – turning page after page – then she saw it – the red words. Touching the page, she leaned across me and asked, “what is that? Why are all of those in red?” I explained they were Jesus’ words. She was speechless for the first time in hours. Jesus’ words on a page – how could that be?! Knowing we were close to boarding, I explained how she could have access to the Father through His Son and taught her a quick prayer. I explained salivation as best I could and placed my Bible in her hands as we stood. She tried to refuse it, but I insisted.
Though she was raised in church, she had never seen – much less held – a Bible, the written Word of G-d – and as I watched her walk away with it clutched to her chest, the picture gripped me and convicted me to my core. The look on her face and the tears in her eyes, combined with the gentle way she hugged my Bible, made it clear that she treasured the Word of G-d. In that moment she GOT IT. I don’t know that I’d ever beheld – much less HELD – the Word of G-d with the reverence she expressed that day.
I texted Dana for the next several months after that chance encounter. She’d ask me to pray for her and we’d talk about what she’d read. She’d send me pictures of what she saw in the margins and ask about notes. She even sent me pictures of her notes next to mine. Then the texts stopped and her phone went silent. Over a year went by when I finally heard from her again.
Dana asked to meet in person and since I happened to be in Charlotte for work, it was perfect timing. I don’t remember where we met or what we ate, but over an extended meal, Dana explained where she’d been. She’d traveled out of the country to visit her son when something she took with her – which ended up being illegal in that country – landed her in a work prison. Separated from her family, unable to communicate, and living on just bread and water, she told me of the many dark nights she lay on her dirty little cot with a thin blanket wrapped around her, desperate for warmth and desperately lonely. She described the fear that consumer her while listening to rodents scurrying about. And in the silence, staring into the dark, she began to remember the Bible stories I told her, she began to see pictures of the red words on the pages that she read and the notes in the margins, and she remembered how to pray. Eventually a priest came and she asked for an English Bible. She somehow got it and she began to devour the Word. It wasn’t the same soft Bible she’d come to love but it had the same word. She was released after some legal assistance and found her way home about a month before we’d met.
She told me the one thing that sustained her was the Word of G-d. After I gave her the Bible, she read it daily until her trip. Then, when food was scarce and the situation absolutely devastating and hopeless, His Word was literal food for her. We lost touch shortly after that night, but meeting her changed me.
She’s who I thought of today when I read this passage. The Word of G-d was with her and through the reading His Word, she was transformed and sustained. She had a profound respect for G-d and His Word from the moment she beheld it and it changed her.
People and experiences may move us emotionally, and chance encounters like mine with Dana leave a lasting imprint, but He alone has the power to transform and sustain us. The more I read His word, the more I learn about Him. The more I learn about Him, the more I am in awe of Him. And the more i behold Him, the more I become like Him.
Father – thank You for Dana. Thank You for trusting me to be a carrier of Your word to her. You see her now – bless her I pray. Father – forgive me for treating Your word so casually. Put a reverence in my heart for Your word and Your presence. Transform me into Your image. Put Your word in my heart and mind. You are good. Your leadership in my life is perfect and You can be trusted. Amen.
Daily Reading: Deuteronomy 17-20