LESSONS FROM THE WOODSTOVE
Read Time: 3 min 24 sec
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.”
Corrie ten Boom
THE GOOD STUFF
LESSONS FROM THE WOODSTOVE
by Marcie Morrison | Member at Redeemer
“He makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire.”- Psalm 104:4
Autumn is here! I’m sure we’ll enjoy our first fire of the season before November begins, so here are a few lessons from that humble box that helps me thrive through the Midwestern winter: I mean you, wood stove.
It’s the Seasoned Wood that Burns.
One Fall, Adam and I camped in Alabama thinking it would be warm. The frost-covered tent may have been fine if we could start a fire the next morning. But all we could find were damp green sticks and mossy logs. Similar to the quality of the log on the fire, the spiritual quality of what we burn varies: some authors, podcasters, and teachers want to give you pinky-sized sticks and little bits of newspaper. These little insta-nuggets feel helpful. They go in the stove easily, and are so accessible! But often there’s nothing there beyond smoke and sparks. There’s nothing like a life-seasoned saint combined with the Spirit’s work to goad me into obedience and heart change. Persecution, faithful decades-long service, and full-orbed honesty together season us as believers. It’s a great time to partake of some well-seasoned inputs, both in person and in writing.
Keep the Stove Hot.
I come out from sleep in the darkness, lightly touch the top of the stove to find it still warm, open the firebox, put another log on, and in less than a minute, shazaam! Bright, hot flames.
Compare this to starting a new fire: get kindling. Stack the wood just right. Hope it will only take one try. Babysit because the stove door must be left open.
It’s significantly easier to keep a hot stove hot because of the residual heat in the stove itself. Likewise, the holidays are coming. You’re going on a Florida getaway or heading to spend time with extended family. What is it going to take to restart the fires of your soul if you let it get cold in there? Where’d the lighter go?
Better to keep the stove hot.
Pack it in.
I’m always amazed that the stove will heat for 8 hours when packed well.
In his novel Safely Home, Randy Alcorn writes about a man imprisoned for his faith who is sustained through a memorized storehouse of scripture. That book inspired me almost 20 years ago to start memorizing whole chapters, then books of the Bible, now with the children too. Here are some benefits:
We always have something to pray.
We increasingly see the world through the lens of scripture as it is the filter and guard of our minds.
Whole books come with tricky bits to share as a family (predestination, sexual immorality, etc.) so we are always introducing themes from God’s perspective, not the prevailing culture’s perspective.
Scripture recitation redeems insomnia.
Don’t be afraid to pack that fuel of God’s Word into the stove of your heart.
Circulate the heat!
One of my favorite features of our stove is the blower that sucks in air from below and blows it across the top, out and away from the stove.
The fire of our lives (especially together) emits Jesus’s warmth and light: to encourage and exhort one another as we approach The Day, but also to draw others who don’t yet know the joy and warmth of a good fire in the soul. I remember inner, perpetual winter without the life-giving, sustaining fire of God’s Spirit. And I remember what it was like to get lit up! Our sweet God knows that everyday things like tending a fire point to his design of the unseen. I’m so grateful for fiery life in Christ. Throw on another log!