Greetings, TSJ Friends, (don’t forget to click on the green header for easier reading on your phones!)
Isn’t imagination a wonderful thing? ( Most of the time, anyway.)
This morning Solomon decided to plant an idea in my mind.
He wanted a better view of things in the office and he wanted to sit right by me. So I picked him up from the stool where he usually sits and put him in the old rocking chair I recently moved to the office.
And I smiled. His role in my life amuses me and I hope from time to time he brings some amusement for you.
I muttered that I had lots of ideas to share with our TSJ people (“peeps” for short) but those ideas have fled far afield somewhere and perhaps if he sat beside me I could at least share that happy face with all of you faithful readers today. A smile is a gift from God wherever it comes from.
Here is the thing. Solomon is sitting in an old rocking chair.
The chair itself could have lots of stories to share.
After all, as most parents would agree, a rocking chair is one of the first essential pieces of furniture when you have your first baby. What is there about that motion that helps sooth the baby and the parent too, for that matter?
And oh the number of stories that get whispered in the young one’s ears and the songs that get sung. The baby lies against you and feels the warmth of your body and the vibrations of your voice. The baby feels your heart beat with love.
Now that I am a “seasoned” (senior) woman with grandchildren, the rocking chair provides memories and is a symbol of homespun wisdom.
It is still a comforting image. I have memories.
For example, my dearest of friends and I talked years ago when life was hectic like it is for most of you now, that when we were older we would sit in our rockers and reminisce and share our stories. It sounded good then. Now we chuckle because it has not happened.
Also, way back in 1982 Mr. Tom (whom most of you remember well) and who was a most favorite person of Solomon, proposed marriage to me this way, “Margie, I imagine the two of us having rocking chair races together someday.”
At the time that seemed almost unimaginable but delightful in a tender and quirky way that suited the two of us.
But we were in a tough time figuring things out as he had two children, as did I, and they all were at the pre-teen stage in life. So thinking of a day we could spend any time in a chair – let alone rocking chairs – seemed rather remote. But I caught the spirit. A light hearted, “we can do this together spirit” that Tom so often shared made me ask with a twinkle in my eye, “Is this a proposal?” To which he responded, “It most certainly is!”
So just the act of lifting Solomon into the rocking chair brought up some playful thoughts to share with you.
Solomon gives me a chance (an excuse) to see life in simpler, uncomplicated ways.
And I swear I heard Solomon say, “Look Where I Am, Ms. Margie!”
This got me to thinking about how we all want to be special. To be noticed.
Children constantly call out, “Look, mom. Look dad. See me” as they do something they are proud of.
School children do that with their teachers. At least at the younger years. As they age, they do certain things to draw your attention that are sometimes not so easy to reward. But the underlying principle is the same if you are four years old or forty or eighty.
This new view for Solomon reminded me of the simple truth that we all long to be seen and understood. In short, to be loved.
During my Lenten meditations I have been reminded repeatedly that God does just that. God waits for us to turn from our distractions and look where he is.
Whenever our mood downshifts because of heartaches and failures, health issues and personal losses etc. – perhaps if we look for God, the Good Shepherd we will hear him say, “I am here!”
Where, you ask, might that be? Well, I find God in scriptures, in nature, in peoples’ stories of hope and healing, in friends, family and others who mentor me. In words of encouragement.
No matter how tired you are in spirit if you look where God is, you will be refreshed. .
If you see someone smile, look for God in that smile. If you see someone cry, God is there too.
But if you look in the rocking chair in my office, you will see Solomon.
And just maybe I needed good old imaginary Solomon this morning to see God in a chuckle.
But dear TSJ friends, always when I look into your eyes, hear your voices and your stories, and share in your journeys…. I see God in you, His people.
Margie and Solomon
