My Spirit is Stirring

I finished reading A Lantern in Her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich this week. It has stirred my spirit. To be honest, I can't recall a book ever doing that to me.

It's been a few days and I'm still thinking about the story line. The book traces the life of a woman, Abbie Mackenzie Deal. You first meet her at the age of eight. You are there for her first meeting with her future husband. You are there when he returns from the Civil War. You are there when they trek from Idaho to Nebraska. You are there when they build the sod house, when they fight the droughts, when they battle the grasshopper invasion, when they struggle through the wicked snow storms, when they gather for the births and deaths of friends and family. You are there because you feel her pain.

But you also feel Abbie's joy. You feel the joy of her holding a baby. You feel her joy of sitting in the shade of a cottonwood tree on a hot summer day. You feel her joy of seeing her children doing things she wasn't able to do - take music lessons, take art lessons, get an education. You feel her joy when she is able to pass on her memories to her granddaughters.

Through all of life, Abbie keeps "a song on her lips and a lantern in her hand." Perhaps that is what stirs me. The idea of being a joyful song and a light to my family. I can see in the book how this affects her children and then her grandchildren. I can see how choices made now have an effect on future generations. It makes me really think - Am I the joyful mother/wife? Am I being a light for my children/husband? What can I do to become a better mother and wife?

If I am to be holding a lantern in my hand, then how do I strenghten myself to be that light bearer for my family? I believe the answer for me is Psalm 119:105. It says "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." My spirit is stirring. It is exalting because I am being called to a deeper love for the Word of God and for His church.