Below is a true story. A true dream. A true testimony. It’s Threshing Floor Thursday and here’s my story.
—- “Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.” Ruth 3:3 NIV How many of us have enjoyed the task of getting pretty for dates? *raises hand* Were you ready? Get ready. ------- On March 6 at 7:31 am, I was inspired by Ruth 3:3 and decided to base my devotion off of this verse - my Threshing Floor Thursday devotion was in the making. March 6, 8:30 pm - After getting settled for the evening, I begin to write again. What a week, what a day, what an evening! God was with truly with me these past several days. I’m so humbled right now. Let me get to my story. How many of you rely on your Bible app? Be honest. It's OK, I won't judge you. In fact, did you know that I used to look down on those who would use their iPad to read their sermon messages from the pulpit? I was hella judgmental. I thank God that I'm not THAT 'girl' anymore. I've grown up and I've learned so much since becoming a widow - from learning how to become wiser at dating to relying on faith and prayer for my needs. Not only do I rely on God, but I also rely on the Word. My Bible app is my go-to source for most of my inspirational reading. 3/6/19: 7:00 am [Bible App] Notification Center: Lent Starts Now I receive reminders (like the one above) from my favorite Bible app if I have forgotten to read my devotional plan for the day, if I failed to check in to read the daily verse of the day, if I receive an important message as it pertains to a holiday, event, or have a new 'friend request'. This Bible app is my go-to source for most of my inspirational reading. I'm thankful for the YouVersion Bible app and I'm thankful for its founder, Craig Groeschel. I must admit, I do fall off of the band-wagon here and there but don't get it twisted, I do communicate with God on a daily basis. I have to. This past Sunday, I received a text from a former male friend. He found the object that I left in his home. Chile, it was a perm roller rod with my phone number on it. Don't ask. Anyway, I left it purposely because I wanted another sista to find it. At that point, I just didn't trust our relationship. Well, he found it and sent me a text while I was in church with a picture of the object & also few mince words - while I was in church! I was no more good and at the end of the message, I walked away without knowing what the sermon was about.
Long story short, my response to him came from a place of peace, regret, and sincerity. That was the 1987-ish old self. The new self should have walked away gracefully. Because my text response brought the peace, our exchange was cordial, which lead to a few additional texts and we decided to meet up Friday (3/8/19) to discuss what went wrong. I was a bit excited yet still leary of the meeting but, I needed to finalize our strange relationship. I had questions. I wanted answers. Should I purchase a new outfit? Should I get my hair done? Did I really miss him or did I miss his company because I didn't want to feel lonely? God, help me make the right decision or make the decision for me. Back to current day (remember, this was written a day prior). I received a text from him. And I knew immediately something was up. 3/6/19 8:56 pm: HIM "Hi - I hope your work week is well. But after giving further thought, I fell it would be best for us not to meet. I do wish you all the best in your future relationship." 3/6/19 8:59 pm: ME "I wish you well also. Take care." And that's it. I didn't have to get dressed up after all. He was not my Boaz and I was not his Ruth. And I have to be OK with that. You see, I kept seeing red flags in the relationship, at least for me anyway. But I kept going back. But this relationship was like chaff and grain from the threshing floor. The threshing floor in biblical times had several meanings; the physical meaning and the symbolic meaning. “The threshing floor in a physical sense was used to tramp or stamp out the grain by the feet of people or oxen. Threshing involves loosening the grain or seeds from the husks and straw prior to throwing the mixture into the air so that the wind blows away the lighter chaff, while the heavier grains fall back down for recovery. Symbolically, the chaff went its own way while the grains were selected for recovery or reclaiming.” 5:40 am on March 7, 2019 I’m awake and my spirit is incredibly peaceful. I kid you not, I had a dream about wooden floors, yes, wooden floors! These floors were dismantled in every home in the neighborhood and all of the families were desperately trying to repair the brokenness of each wooden panel and began to also install panels in areas that needed to be covered. They didn't want to hire someone - they were proud to take on the responsibility. See, the strange thing about this was that I was with an entirely different ready-made family, husband and all. He represented Boaz in this dream and although I don't know what the future holds or the meaning of this imagery, I truly felt reclaimed, restored, and reconciled. My dear widows (or anyone waiting for their Boaz) liken yourself to the grain - waiting for recovery. Let me ask you something: Are you ready to be reclaimed? Threshing Floor Thursday with Maya Tyler and The Bounce Back Project w/Maya Tyler #recovery #reclaim #Ruth #Boaz #blackwomenwidowsempowered #bounceback #BWWE #ThreshingFloorThursday #blackwidow