Home Comfort

-
Deuteronomy 8:11-14: "Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God..."

Do y'all remember those ole "Home Comfort" stoves? The wood burners with the different warming stations and a heavy metal handle-thingy?
Granny and her 'vintage' Home Comfort Stove
My grandmother had one that she used daily; Granny always had something simmering on her stove: sap from maple trees, 'kraut and hot dogs, beans, or just a kettle of water for her tea. That lady could nurse a mug of hot tea all day long. She'd just add a little hot water to it off and on and she'd sip away. I can still see her sitting at the kitchen table, back to the sink, a cup of tea covered with a saucer in front of her, the string all brown from wicking the tepid liquid over the course of the day. 
Sometimes she'd just be sitting beside the stove...just being..."Granny." She always wore an apron and something on her head, like a toboggan or head scarf.  (I'm smiling as I picture these vivid memories so I had to share a pix so you can smile too.)  These are some of my home comfort memories. Memories of home. Southern home comfort at its best. Memories I want to share while creating some with my own grand-kids.
  
Earlier this week I wasn't feeling good and I was thinking of my personal comfort. How the little things in everyday life are easily taken for granted. The snack cabinet my own grand-kids and I enjoy. The AC and ceiling fan on hot July days. My not-so-old dog and cat rubbing up against my legs wondering what I'm doing home. My husband and kids praying for me to feel better. Just little things that make this home sweet (comfortable) home.

I felt guilt wash over me as I munched on "Miracle Whip crackers," an odd yet comfort-for-me-food. And I had to remember that unlike so many of my American neighbors, I still have my home unaffected by flood waters and my family intact and healthy.  Guilt that, today anyway, I was living a 'normal' life while so many others just aren't. Gradually it dawned on me that these comforts are only temporary.  Just like my neighbors, home could be swept away by natural elements or at any given point in time, my family could be hurt, or worse...then what? Where would I find my comfort?  Sickened to my stomach by the knowledge that life is an uncertain-moment-by-moment journey...I bowed my head and prayed.

+ + +

With head bowed over my Bible, I recalled a couple verses found in the book of 119 Psalms: "Your words have I hid in my heart (11) - Make me understand the way of Your precepts (27) - and this is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life (50)". I reckon my thought is that God will grant me the peace of mind to face life head on when it has my back against the wall. Where is my hope? In the same God David wrote to in Psalm 39:7: "And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You."

In a time when the world is so full of chaos and turmoil, I pray that my neighbors and I can earnestly seek, find, and hope in the God of our forefathers. The God who is Omnipresent. Whose Spirit resides in believers. Our Comforter. Our Father. Our God. 

Wishing y'all a blessed Sunday full of His grace.

In Christ with love and compassion,

Coach Kelly
#WVStrong; #PrayingForAmerica 

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for contacting YLCWV! I will get back to you shortly.

Popular posts from this blog

Create in Me

-
Image
"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10) SEVERAL years ago, I drove across a few back WVa back roads, across Dolly Sods and Red Creek.  While taking this picture, I considered how the creek,  (pounced crick where I come from),  had marked out its own path . The interesting thing about a creek, is that when the water is high, it hides what’s laying in the creek bed; but a low water level reveals unsightly debris. Some debris, fallen trees and leaves, occur naturally. Other stuff, tires, plastic bags, bottles, they are deposited there on purpose. But debris is debris…and it mires the beauty of the creek and can change the course of the waters flow. Interestingly enough, Christians have a lot in common with a creek…and  when a Believer’s faith ‘ebbs and flows’, it sends a message to anyone watching, and they will  take notice. We’re all guilty of the spiritual ebb and flow phenomenon.  When our faith is high, it reflects our t
Read more

Jesus, Touch Me Again

-
Image
  In Mark, Chapter 8, Jesus laid hands on a blind man and gave him sight; but the man was only "half-healed". And the all-knowing Jesus asked him "Okay, so how's that?"   This story intrigues me.   Here's a blind man who willingly puts his hand in the hand of The Man and is led out of town to be healed.   Did he follow Jesus expecting something miraculous?   Or did he blindly follow like his friends told him to? I visualize him shrugging with an "it can't hurt" attitude.   But I wonder how he felt when Jesus touched him...Can you imagine his excitement as the Holy Spirit bubbled up in his gut?   I imagine he was excited about receiving some sight, but when Jesus touched him again and he saw clearly? Surely, he went from being half blind to dumbstruck.     Now try to imagine how it would have been if Jesus hadn't touched his eyes the second time. A little sight would be better than no sight, but this is Jesus we'r
Read more

beyond BEAUTIFUL week 45

-
Image
Beyond the Mirror Week 45 "A capable, intelligent, and virtuous woman--who is he who can find her? She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far above rubies or pearls."  (Proverbs 31:10 AMPC) REFLECTION: Beyond the Mirror is a beautiful woman.  She may be funny. She may be shy. She may be confidant or uncertain at times. Beyond the Mirror is a woman who knows her value. She plans her days for the benefit of her family. Her desire is to reflect His light. Created in His image, with a heart full of love, she learns to look beyond the mirror. For she  knows that beyond her mirror, truly, she is "Beyond BEAUTIFUL." IMAGINE THIS Proverbs 31. What an amazing chapter for us women to study this week. Within it are listed characteristics that define a truly beautiful woman. Within the Mirror lies vanity and deception.  But beyond it, staring back at us from the depths of our soul, is the woman God created us to be...a Proverbs 31 woman of G
Read more