“A SPECIAL PLACE” When I was nine, my dad was in graduate school, and we lived in campus housing for married students. That meant concrete floors, grungy walls, wall-to-wall beds, a torn Naugahyde sofa and no pets. But there was a big field next door where we could run and catch bugs. There was a swing set in back under a big sweet gum tree; we could swing really high and kick the sweet gum balls. And just around the corner was my forsythia playhouse. The bush had grown large in a circular pattern spreading long willowlike branches out from its trunk until they touched the ground a foot or so away. This created a kind of tunnel around the trunk. I could crawl in from behind and be completely out of sight behind the curtain of branches. It was a great place to hide, to read, to play, to daydream. In winter, it was dry and crackly and protected from the wind. In summer, it was cool and green, soaked in leafy shadow. But early spring was best, when the whole bush was covered in bright yellow flowers. Even the light inside my playhouse was yellow. It’s one of my most exotic memories – spending an afternoon in a little room made up entirely of golden blooms. Sitting there made me feel both safe and excited, free but protected – and incredibly privilege. I mean, most of my friends had more stuff than I did, but nobody had a playhouse made out of flowers! Remembering that special place gives me a beautiful picture of what it means to be surrounded by God’s love. I seem to spend much of my life in grungy surroundings doing what needs to be done. Whenever the grayness pulls me down, I need to stop, close my eyes and see myself as I really am – God’s child, tucked safely inside his care, incredibly privileged and utterly surrounded by beautiful, golden light. Author: Anne Christian Buchanan (Scripture: Zephaniah 3; Verse: Zephaniah 3:17; Additional Scripture: Psalm 32:7; Psalm 90:1; 1 John 3:1-2)
Posted on: Sun, 11 Aug 2013 17:08:03 +0000
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