Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him, for He shields him all day long. Let the one the Lord loves rest between His shoulders.
Deuteronomy 33:12
This is how you are loved by God. Between His shoulders.
How I long to rest in Him, just like that. It is, after all, an open invitation.
Yesterday we missed a wedding. I’ve known the bride my whole life.
Granted, we were never close.
And we weren’t actually invited to the wedding.
But I picture it taking place in an apple grove, with some sort of ivy winding up and over a wrought iron arch. A gorgeous Autumn ceremony. The minister is just getting to the heartwarming stuff at the climax of his speech.
Suddenly all you can hear is
AP’M!
AP’M!
AP’M!
AP’M!
AP’M!
AP’M!
AP’M!
That’s Riley yelling “APPLE!” and waiting for someone to notice his brilliance in suggesting the name of the nearby fruit at the top of his lungs. There he goes, scooting in between rows of guests, squealing and laughing.
Then there’s another noise, sort of quietly violent, as Riley’s mama starts losing her cookies. Must have been a bad apple. Someone catch that kid! He’s getting too close to the bucket! He’s getting too close to the bride! He’s as curious as a cat and as fast as boiled Crisco!
I bet they wish they’d invited us.
The point is, I learned a lot in the last day or two. I’m joking about the wedding. Someone I know did get married, but my 1:30A.M. mind just thinks it would have been hilarious if our comical circus had showed up.
You see, I never thought I’d be the parent with the rambunctious toddler. MY children were going to stay perfectly in line.
And I, not having actually thrown up in 16 years, never had much compassion for those who got stomach bugs. It was more like, “Oh the poor thing. Glad I didn’t get it…”
But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. Psalm 86:15. I posted that as my verse for the weekend, and funny thing – God’s been teaching me to have compassion – to sympathize with those who struggle or suffer.
After all, I was one of those rambunctious toddlers whose heart was good and happy and whose bum never hit the chair.
And now I was one of those poor souls hunched over the garbage can while my loving husband rubbed my back, and my parents whisked our children from the room.
Thank you, God, for your love and faithfulness – for getting me through and reminding me how much I need you. Maybe I’ll have the chance to reach out to someone soon in compassion.
I feel like now I can say sincerely, “I know what you mean! Let’s get through it together.”
For those of us who don’t shop at Pier 1 or Crate Barrel with any sort of regularity, here is a series on decorating with imagination. Shopping at Salvation Army (or better yet, shopping from your own basement) may not be incredibly glamorous – but it’s incredibly satisfying.
Inspired Shoestrings: Part 5 – The Family Wall
I was inspired by my mother-in-law to start a family wall. Her dining room wall is covered with beautiful old family photos in an array of similarly-colored frames. I’ve been part of their family for a while now; but I still wander into her dining room and get lost in all those pictures of the generations.
It’s incredible to look at our sons and see the resemblance they bear to men from 2 or 3 generations ago!
I decided it would be fun to fill our dining room with family pictures as well. I’m a little kooky, though, and had to put my own spin on it. In the center of the largest wall, I painted this:
If you look closely, you can a hairline crack in the wall on the left side of the verse. Our house is very old, and I think I traumatized it by slamming it too many times with a hammer and nails. I’m not a fan of horse-hair plaster and whatever else is behind the nice contemporary paint.
The pictures that surround this verse are of our little family unit, starting with Jon and I on our first date. My younger sister actually showed up at the skating rink where she knew we were going, and took a beautiful picture of us talking off to the side, totally wrapped up in our own world. She gave us that photo plus one from our engagement and our wedding day in matching frames as a wedding gift. How cool is that?
Off to the side are pictures of us with Riley, our first-born – and soon there will be similar pictures of us with Quinn. Below is a goofy photo of 3 of our nieces and nephews, and a Disney snapshot of us on Test Track. Classic! Other pictures fan out to the sides with shots of our extended families.
This is only the beginning of the project I have in my mind. Hopefully our growing families on both sides will be represented, as well as shots of our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents on their wedding days, with their friends, etc.
It’s important to know and embrace where you come from. We want our children to know the names, faces, and personalities of each member of their family, even the folks they won’t meet until they get to heaven.
One of the best parts of this has been shopping for frames at second-hand stores, where you can score some really great deals on perfectly good frames. If you like this idea, consider finding old, used frames and repainting them. It’s so much cheaper and fun, too!
Some decorating projects must be started and finished quickly, all at once. This one can be done over the course of years and the space will look lovely in the meantime.
Do you have a family wall in your home?
The Full Vine 