Storm Shelter Turned Prayer Room
This momma needs alone time with Jesus and I need it often.
I need a place to meditate, listen, and journal what I feel like the Lord is speaking to me that day and in that season.
My husband and I bought a home about a year ago, and it came with a storm shelter.
No one ever wanted to go in it because it was always full of standing water and bugs.
About a month ago, I couldn’t get that nasty storm shelter out of my head and I felt compelled to turn it into a space where I could meet with the Lord and meditate.
Why, you ask? Because I know in the inner parts of my gut that if I can get alone with the Father, and seek His voice, He can guide me, direct me, and mold me. He can walk me through every struggle I am facing.
When I carve out a physical space and a designated time to meet with Him, He always shows up.
The hard part is finding that space in a home with 3 small boys that always need a snack, a bottom cleaned, or a referee.
Finding this space alone with the Lord helps me to be a better wife and momma.
And I definitely need His grace in both of those areas of my life.
Here is a picture of the space before I began the process.
This storm shelter represents my life before Christ. I was dirty, lonely, and full of all sorts of despicable things. But after I gave my heart to the Lord, I was transformed by the love of Christ.
I was grateful when He “power washed” away the sins that filled me with shame, just like it felt good to clean out all the tiny crevices of the shelter with a cleaner.
And when I wanted to give up on life or when my “power” got disconnected, He was the One that dug into the depths of my heart and reminded me TRUE light, life, and hope only comes from being connected to the Creator of the Universe.
And He is the One that adorns us with new garments of praise and showers us with heavenly blessings.
What an amazing God we get to love and commune with constantly!
He hears, sees, cleans out, fixes, and fills us with all the good stuff.
Here is a picture of my space after I finished:
Below are pictures and a breakdown of the steps that transformed this space into a peaceful sanctuary.
Step 1: Clean it out! Cob webs, leaves, a chair and a bucket were all taken out.
Step 2: Power wash that nasty thing! (Luckily my amazing neighbor let me borrow her power washer!)
Step 3: Suck out excess water and dry it out…
Step 4: Figure out why the electricity isn’t working! AT&T put an internet cord in the ground about a year ago and cut the electric line, but we didn’t catch the issue in time to have AT&T fix it. So we got shovels and a pic and started following the line till we found where it was cut. Thankfully my husband was able to fix the wire and we now have power to the shelter!
Step 5: Give it a new coat of paint on ceiling, walls, and steps… I also added a cute rug and shelf space for books and study items.
Step 6: I added comfortable seating and fluffy pillows.
Step 7: I added a rolling table for my laptop and books. Then I filled the shelves with items I wanted on hand, such as:
· Bibles and favorite books
· Elements for communion
· Pens and pencils
· White board and cork board
· Lamp
· Water boiler, tea, and coffee
· Cups and bottles of water
· And a blanket
The finishing touch was a poster that says, “This is my happy place.”
Here at the Beautiful Basics we love you and we are praying that your alone time with the Lord is filled with peace and supernatural connection no matter where you meet with Him!
Much love from our hearts to yours!