Glory
Your Glory breaks thru the dark
And my heart runs after You
When my eyes are opened here
Heaven's light is captured true.
Leaves turn and Seasons change
The dying falls from the sky
But in the seed of the broken fruit
The living gift will lie.
--bg
In the midst of grey days, when the sun finally decided to burst upon the scene, I happily grabbed my camera to focus on the way the Light spotlighted a treasured family hand-me-down. I've placed a pretty wreath around this wall plaque now, but I remember staring at it while growing up, and wondering if somehow it wasn't quite true.
How could my Mom place that definition of HOME on the wall, when she so obviously knew about the many choices that were being made by each of us to "NOT" live for God?
Even more, how could I then place it in my own home, with those same tendencies running through us still?
~~~~~
It is week 10 with Jayber over at Michele Morin's site
Living Our Days
for the great book study she is leading of Jayber Crow, by Wendell Berry. Jayber has moved back by the river, and has entered the final chapter of his life, where he has encountered a sense of home and community in spite of his choice to move out on the edge even farther.
Jayber's words about how our little touches to a place impact our sense of home, especially touched me. As I have had to move slower in this chronic illness lifestyle, some days I feel that the touches I can make now are so small. And yet it is the smallest of things that may touch us most deeply:
"Every little difference I made seemed a significant change in the world. I would finish a piece of work and then I would stand and look and admire the way it fitted in with everything else. Just sweeping the porch seemed to make the tree limbs spread and hover more gracefully above it. Where a falling limb had poked a hole through a screen, I took a fine wire and stitched on a patch, and then sat a while and looked out the window, feeling that my work had improved the view."
Berry, Wendell. Jayber Crow: A Novel (Port William) (p. 309). Counterpoint. Kindle Edition
In his little cabin by the river Jayber finds a sense of family with the friends who have stuck by him through all of the years in his small town. Yet more surprising to him was the gift of friendship offered by those few who chose him to continue their barbering, even in the cabin:
"But the ones who have remained have been faithful. Their coming is made even more an act of faith because in this house on the river I have no mirrors on the walls. Here, I am the sole judge of my work. When they climb into the chair, they have to trust me. They have to be willing beforehand to be satisfied with what I can do with scissors and comb and razor only."
Berry, Wendell. Jayber Crow: A Novel (Port William) (p. 306). Counterpoint. Kindle Edition.
And those few came to include the family of Jayber's oldest friend, Burley. He was the one who helped him find the town barbershop, and now he was also the one who owned the land where Jayber's cabin stood. Jayber took to visiting their home as well:
"On the winter nights we would have popcorn, and sometimes Burley would go to his room and bring out his shoebox full of keepsakes, which he would take out one by one and identify and pass around for everybody to see. The smaller children would be playing around quietly or sitting in laps or lying beside our chairs to listen. I so much loved the quiet of those times of talk, when the children were listening or asleep, and we were all aware of the darkness spread over the ridgetops and the valley."
Berry, Wendell. Jayber Crow: A Novel (Port William) (p. 318). Counterpoint. Kindle Edition.
And in that joining, hearts were being knitted together. Hearts became family as homes were shared, as each heart made a home for the other ones. And I saw how the Love of our Lord has called us into this joining of homes and hearts as we walk through our days.
As I was writing this post, a phone call came to let us know of the passing of my husband's only remaining Aunt. As the tears ran down my face, I remembered how she was a feisty, independent sort, but always wanted to share her knowledge of antiques and crafting and the old ways of living. Never having walked with God herself, it was a strange thing for her when my husband made his choice to live for Jesus. There were many discussions over the years, as first our prayers were spurned, and then our prayers were welcomed, and finally, even requested. But always, hearts were shared as homes were opened.
And, somehow, I feel this is where we let
the Light of God's Glory
shine to those around us.
Whenever one of us
makes the choice to "live for God,"
all are given opportunity
to witness HIS Glory there.
Home becomes more than just a place.
Home becomes a dwelling place for the Glory of God.
"God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory."
Colossians 1:26-27 MSG
God's Glory in me?
God's Glory in my Home?
Oh, yes, most emphatically yes!
In these days of shifting shadows
and wavering choices,
Whenever I have set Jesus as Lord,
He has come to dwell in me!
And HIS GLORY rests here,
in the Grace of His calling,
drawing us ever on
for that day
to join
HIM
in His own Heaven Home
forever.
I am linking today with:
To find a copy of Jayber Crow, you can click the link here.
