The Descent
Psalm 62:1 - For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation.
She worked hard all day long. The work was grimy in the restaurant kitchen as she scrubbed the dishes. Rubber gloves and dish soaps that can cut through any grease. She cleaned the dishes with metal brushes and sponges, rinsed them, and set them to the side. It was dinner time and there was a steady flow of dirty dishes which seemed to outpace how quickly she could wash. If she stopped for a break, the kitchen would come to a halt from all the piles of plates and bowls and cutlery. The kitchen is a rowdy place of tempers and unforgiving words, but she peacefully focuses on her work without judgment. She used her forearm to wipe the sweat on her forehead and prays for her coworkers and the dinner guests in silence.
The restaurant finally closes and she continues to clean the remaining dishes and then also cleans the countertops, floors, and more. It’s 10 o’clock and the lights go out. She’s headed home after a long day in a loud, hot kitchen and drives back in the darkness with some hymns playing very softly and some prayers being uttered quietly on her lips.
Once home, she sees her family has already gone to bed. Her younger brother and sister are fast asleep and she blows them kisses from the door so as not to wake them. She goes into the family kitchen and begins making meals for the following day for her brother, her sister, and herself. This was a task she took on years ago and even though her parents had tried to reclaim it once she started working, she refused to let it go because she appreciated being of service to her family. Acts of service made her feel… at home.
Lunches made and packed and put in the fridge, she checks the time. It’s well past 11 o’clock now. Her body is exhausted and is telling her to hurry up and shower, then go to bed. But her heart is telling her to talk to the one she loves the most and has been missing all day. She throws on a light coat, turns out the lights in the family kitchen, and quietly slips out the back door of the house. With arms crossed, she walks out onto the deck and descends down the steps onto the narrow paved path behind her house which leads into the woods. She looks back at her home and no lights have been turned on; so she must not have woken anyone up.
She walks on her family property past sweet smelling rose bushes, trees waving in the wind, and amidst the song of the crickets. The way is illumined by her father’s sun-powered lights along the path. She finally reaches her meeting place and there in the stillness and the quiet, she begins to pray. With focus, she descends in prayer and goes to a place where distractions from the day can no longer reach her. The thoughts of yesterday, the current day, or the day to come, aren’t able to distract her. The intrusive thoughts above fly overhead, but they cannot reach her here. She has taken a descent into pure prayer and total focus on Christ.
In this place, she pours out her heart without words and tells Him everything. She confesses her love for Him. She sings in adoration of His glory. She is washed clean from the day by the tears streaming down her cheeks. She sees Him not with physical eyes, but with faith she knows He’s there. She is in His presence and He hears her prayers.