How “small” can bring us peace and wisdom
This picture is the table where I am sitting and writing this post. The picture was taken at night. Isn’t it great how the cut-outs in the hanging light fixture reflect on the mini-blinds? I had my husband build open shelves on all the walls. The one in the picture is my “pantry.”
I wrote a while ago about why “quiet times” are so good for us. It’s the space in our lives that gives us time to breath.
Right not I’m in my darling red and white bunkhouse looking into the woods and hearing the wind blow. I’m listening to the” critters” that abound here. I’m praying the bear isn’t around as hubby is fishing.
Yes, there is the bear. Everyone has seen him.
I’ve seen him. (That’s a story in itself.)
We’ve seen his footprints in front of the cabin. They’re very big. Course, it could be a “she” which would be even worse because far worse than seeing a full-sized bear is seeing bear cubs. Mama bears are like human mama’s. Don’t go messin’ with my babies!
The only other sound is the melodic wood chimes hanging on the porch bonging out a soothing sound. For some reason I think of monks when I hear them.
I’m wondering how I can ever be upset over anything when I am so fortunate to have this place of retreat. This place where I can clean the main cabin, all five hundred feet of it, in an hour. This adorable bunk house, called “LaCabinette”, where I can be all by myself and “monk-like” with my thoughts. I wonder how I can ever have a pity party when I’m here.
But, of course you already know the answer. We don’t leave our worries behind, do we? They come with us like a too-heavy backpack weighing us down.
But just getting away can still be therapeutic. I gain a little more perspective every time we’re here. It’s my personal breathing space. Sometimes I feel like I’ve held my breath all winter just waiting for the first trip up here. I see the cabin at the bottom of the driveway and I breathe, deep and strong.
The worries are still there, waiting for me to return. Some of the issues that I’m facing are very big and I don’t know how they’re going to turn out. I’m counting on gaining some insight. But when I go home in a few days, I won’t go there begrudgingly. There are people I care deeply about waiting for me. People who need me. People I need. It would be far worse to be alone, unconnected to anyone.
For now, I will enjoy the utter peacefulness of our “place up north”. I will revel in its charm and rusticness. I will gather strength from my reading and meditation. I will be humbled that God has given us this special place and try to never forget to count my blessings.
Ordinarily, I would extend hospitality to family and friends to come up and visit. But not today. Not this week. This week it’s all about me.
I wrote that in 2013.
It’s only February but I’m itching to get back to my adorable bunkhouse. I completely redid it last year and it’s all pink and girly and just wonderful.
The “remodel” took all of a few hours.
Seriously.
I just repainted everything that was blue, pink. I even painted some artificial flowers. I bought pink candles, recovered some pillows with a pink print and voila’, it was done!
I don’t have a picture of how I changed this area. I found a pink floral twin bed sheet at Goodwill, put up a curtain rod over the “library”, and hung the curtain. I plan on adding the word “library” to the curtain, maybe stick-backed felt.
I’ll be sure to post the picture.
“Small” works for me. I find that at times, “small” is exactly what I need.
God is big. And quite often I sense God’s bigness in the realm of nature, magnificent landscapes, oceans that seem to go on forever, majestic mountains, wide-open plains. It’s easy for me to grasp the bigness of God with those scenes in front of me.
This is a picture of a dog park in the Netherlands. It was one of my favorite places. My husband worked during the day and so I got to do a lot of wandering around. This park is huge and I never did walk through all of it.
But like Elijah, a small cave works wonders for me. I feel cloistered and safe.
Like in my little cabin.
How about you? Where do you experience God the best? Or, are you like me, they both work, depending on your life at the time.
I hope you have a wonderful, wonderful blessed day.
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