Emma, Caden, and I wrapped up a geography unit last week.  We memorized the countries and topographic features of Africa, used National Geographic’s online interactive maps resource to study it’s climate, topography, and population, and read books about hippos, giraffe, gorillas, zebras, Nigeria, Ethiopia, the Nile, Africa in general, and African Americans in the United States of America.  Needless to say, I’ve had this fascinating continent and it’s people on my mind.  I’m going to credit Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with the following stream of consciousness.

Franklin has been without his motorcycle for three weeks.  I’ve been chauffeuring him to and from work while waiting for a new tire.  Most mornings I’ve taken Franklin to the high school in my pajamas and Valentine’s Day fleece robe (a heart-covered gift from my children several years ago) praying that I’m not seen, but last Friday was All-State auditions and video editing crunch time for a 9:30 Every 15 Minutes wrap-up assembly.  Franklin had to be at the school early so we left the house at 5:50am.

Friday is also my early morning accountability group with several of my friends at James Elementary so I found myself in limbo.  I decided to take my Bible and Beth Moore Bible study workbook with me to Stripes.  I got a cup of coffee and sat down to work for 20 minutes on my morning study.  Side note – I had already showered and dressed for the day  I might be a homeschooling mama but I haven’t yet gone into a public place in my pjs.  I’m praying life doesn’t come to that for me!

Always a covert people watcher, I began to notice those who frequent Stripes in the early morning.  The employees were visiting at the counter as customers threw open the front doors and called out a greeting to the store employees.  They were obviously regulars who have a relationship with the morning shift, but when they got closer to the coffee bar, they saw me and my Bible.  Their demeanor changed.  They became quiet, as if in church, and if they caught my eye they respectfully nodded before taking care of their morning needs.

Now, I’m not suggesting that everyone in the general public would alter their behavior if they saw a 40 year old woman reading her Bible in public. In fact, Franklin and I spent a couple of hours Columbus Day in the McDonalds play area.  Why McDonald’s you might ask…  I was disappointed to find that my favorite haunt, The Do Drop Inn, was celebrating the Columbus Day holiday as well.  It was early-afternoon when we got there and the “playground” was empty, but as mid-afternoon approached I had to put my study up.  I couldn’t concentrate to read my Bible with several young children playing in the tubes.  That was poor planning on my part.  But I thought about my early morning experience in light of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s approach to societal change.

I wonder what would happen…  What would happen if 100 women in our small community committed to completing their Bible study in a public area 1 time a week?  Would the demeanor of the general public change at all?  Would children ask their parents about the Bible-reading woman?  Would they wonder about the book she read and its content?  Would a youth or two pull up their pants?  Would a crotchety old man refrain from profanity?  Would a middle-aged woman be transported in her mind to her grandparents’ kitchen table and the Good Book her grandparents relied on for hope and wisdom?

I wonder what would happen…  What would happen if 100 women and 100 men in our small community committed to completing their Bible study in a public area 1 time a week?

What would happen if 100 women, 100 men, and 100 college students and youth in our small community committed to the same?  Would our community notice?  Would the general public, in witnessing that a group of Bible-loving, Bible-believing and Bible-reading peers does exist, listen with more interest when a conversation turned to a Truth from The Word?  Would a hurting man or woman recognize a Bible-reader as a colleague from their work or school “life” and be encouraged to ask a question or reach out?  What if we were “loud enough” in our “quiet stand” to draw attention?

I’m going to start this week and I hope that you’ll find 30 minutes a week to open The Good News in public, too.  Share the idea with your friends.  I pray God will be glorified in our peaceful demonstration and I pray that our study in public will clearly communicate, “I am a believer and The Truth in The Word is important to me.  I depend on The Word for wisdom and hope in my life.”  I pray that seekers will ask us about our relationship with Christ as a result of our boldness and that The Holy Spirit will stir the hearts of those who see us.