Where Are You Now?



A family of four once lived there.  Mother, father and two children both boys.  Every day for several years the father went to work in the fields by summer, and at the local grain elevator by winter.  He was hard working.  Steel hands, they called him because his hands were so hard and calloused from his work.  When he came home at night he made sure there was always plenty; plenty of wood for the fireplace, plenty of food on the table to eat, plenty of love for his wife and children.  He did his best.  Mom stayed home and cared for the basic needs of the family.  She cooked, mended the torn knees in active little boys trousers, and made sure there was enough time to read stories and always did everything with love.

As time went on the boys grew to be men and moved away from the family farm.  They came home often, bringing laughter and laundry for their mom because she had the magic touch.  Eventually their visits became fewer and farther between.  The home that was once full of laughter was now so empty. Mom and dad getting up in years no longer had the energy to care for such a big house.  Losing strength and sight, they were no longer able to drive and eventually had to take refuge in a home for the elderly.  

Left behind was merely the memory of baked bread drifting in the wind, the laughter of children and the place that was once called home.

This is what I imagined as I drove by this broken down home recently.  I have no idea who lived there but I can't stop thinking about the life that once was.  People are no different.  Sometimes things happen to beautiful, happy people that reduces them to an old broken shell.  When I meet people who are difficult, at best, to love I often wonder what happened to make them this way.  Have they seen tragedy?  Were they abandoned?  Like this house, did they wake up one day and feel cleaned out and worn?  Have they given up?

What is left of the house in this picture can't really be salvaged but what it rests on is a foundation; a foundation that could be rebuilt upon.  I believe that inside of each of us is a foundation, a good foundation, that can be built on and made stronger than ever.  

Do you feel like this house, abandoned and lacking life?  Do you feel like there is no way to rebuild? Be comforted in knowing that you don't have to do it alone.  May someone close to you see your foundation of beauty and better still may you find it within.  And may you find the strength to pick up and move on.

Thanks for stopping by today,

Amy 

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