Saturday, December 26, 2009

Comfort in the Rockin' Chairs

Last night as I lay in bed trying to fall asleep, I looked at my wall...

My mind was filled with lots of things: peace from a good Christmas day, joy in knowing that my family was safe and snug in their beds, lists of things that needed to be done, and concerns for people I love.

I had no answers for the worries I carried. I turned them over and over in my head. I quietly and vaguely tried to give those burdens to the Lord...and my heart hurt a little bit.

And then, I looked at my wall again and noticed that there was, staring at me, a photograph of some empty rockin' chairs on my parents' front porch. Somehow, even though the chairs were empty, I received comfort from the sight of them.

Solutions to those worries did not magically appear. And yet, something about those rocking chairs, something about the love that they represent gave me hope for things that don't seem to have much right now...

2 comments:

Zuneamama said...

from a devotional book we have:
With the help of these and other commonplace objects-with the help of the two big elm trees that shaded the house from the heat of the sun, and the trumpet vine by the back door, and the white lilac bush by the dining-room window, and the comfortable wicker porch furniture and the porch swing that contributed its creak...creak... to the sounds of the summer night-I got from one day to the next.
-William Maxwell

"In this time of upset and change, I am grateful for the solace of the familiar." -Martha Whitmore Hickman

Carrie said...

Love you, Laura!