Monday, March 5, 2012

Rest and Be Refreshed

I wish I could run outside and snap a picture of our neighborhood,
but Ben is napping and I don't want to leave him alone.
So I snapped this shot from our front door...


As you may know, we moved to a new house in November,
but what you may not know is,

WE ARE LIVING IN A CONSTRUCTION ZONE!!

Our little cottage is surrounded by the construction of new homes,
all in various stages and various noises. This photo just shows one of 6 homes being built
right by our home, and it has been fun to see the process of house-building.

These men have been working day after day,
and they all have a specific job to do.
Some do the initial digging of the hole for the house,
 and others drive the dump trucks to haul it away.
Others ready the earth for the forms, and then they pour the cement
from the cement mixer with the help of Big Red.

(Okay, I am getting into dangerous territory here,
as I really know nothing about the specifics of building a house.
Just pretend I do!!)

Foundations and basements are poured,
walls go up,
and I hear lots and lots of hammering,
trucks,
and
all that goes with this process of labor.

Yes,
it is quite noisy, and yes,
 Lucy our golden retriever really dislikes it,
but that is a story for another time.

Some days, the noise is more than I can take,
but I remind myself that our home went through the same process
and the existing neighbors lived through the noise
of our home being built.
The noise is essential to the 3-month it takes to
build a home that will last a lifetime,
so I am learning patience.

This is how Ben handles it...


This is a bit out of focus,
but I took it from across the room so that I didn't wake him from his nap.

He sleeps,
he swings and sleeps to the rhythm of the swing.

He sleeps,
snuggled in his Snuggly cocoon in his bassinet,
listening to soft lullabies to drown out the outside,
the quiet rhythm of the songs and his breath
lulling him to sleep, not a care in the world.

No loud truck bothers him
no hammer wakes him.

He sleeps in the middle of the construction zone
and he trusts me to take good care of him.

It is like this with God, isn't it?

Our lives are surrounded by the stuff of life,
the noise and the hustle and bustle of carving out a living, raising a family,
driving to work, running to the doctor, mowing the lawn,
running the vacuum, and on and on it goes.

Sometimes the noise and activity are too much,
and we need to retreat to a quiet place,
a place where we can get alone with our thoughts and our prayers
and spend time with the Father who cares for us.

Mark 6:31 (39 kb)

"Come with Me by yourselves
to a quiet place
and get some rest."
Mark 6:31

 With a Grateful Prayer and a Thankful Heart

4 comments:

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

Dear, sweet Ben, resting so peacefully! Such a wonderful post and Scripture. I will meditate on these words today :)

Lorraine
ps This would be perfect if you would share on my Think on These Things post.

Kit said...

I hope you are enjoying your new home. Pretty soon all will be built and all will quiet down. And Ben will grow and life will flourish! Have a lovely week! Kit

Dayle ~ A Collection of Days said...

Great analogy. In the midst of chaos and turmoil, I still have a deep peace within, all because of knowing the Lord. I can rest in Him.

Anonymous said...

We lived in three different neighborhoods where new homes were being built. At the last one (before our cottage here), they cut the phone lines three times. Some days it seemed tough, but eventually everyone moved in and it became quiet. :)
Ben has it all figured out. So wonderful that you can enjoy time with him & your other grandkids!
Hope you are having a wonderful week!
Hugs,
Zuzu