Tent and Altar
I pack a tent wherever I go.
I don’t sleep in my tent, mind you, but when I visit my tent, I find rest.
For years, I have carried with me a tent and an altar, though I didn’t have it name for it until recently, after a study of Maybe God is Right after All by Cynthia Heald. In her journey with God, Heald carries a “tent” and “altar” with her at all times, like Abraham in Old Testament times.
Her tent: a cloth bag.
Her altar: a Bible, journal and devotional book, all carried inside her tent.
My tent is a gift from a friend. She decorated a black canvas bag for me, decorated with a shiny crown and my initials. Inside my tent, is my altar: my Bible, a new journal and whatever book or books I’m reading.
At home, this portable tent sits at my bedside, near a stack of other devotionals and books and magazines where I go to enter into God’s presence. But when I leave home, the portable tent goes with me. I meet Him through the simplicity of a black bag.
In my tent, I find rest.
“Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me — watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly. — Matthew 11:28-30 (The Message)
We have a treasure box in our front room. It's a simple box filled with our richest treasures … my boys have their favorite Bibles (NIVR for my oldest, Children's Bible for my youngest) their intercession journals for the nations, Psalms and Proverbs books for kids, our Jesus journals where we draw and record what we are learning and what God is doing in our lives, Warrior bible (which they love) jam packed with exciting hands on and creative ways to explore God's Word, some flap and tab Bibles for my little one who is just beginning to read but desires his own quiet time, and some other special books on God's Word that people have passed to us on the mission field. Thanks for sharing what is in your tents, so I can look them up in the US. The resources will amaze me, I'm sure.