Friday, May 18, 2007

One Is the Loneliest Number

Our four oldest children share a room with each other: one bunk bed and two toddler beds. Adjacent to their room is a very small, oddly shaped guest room (or more appropriately, as Lily calls it, the "guess" room -- you never know what might be stored in there!). Since the twins moved out of that room and into Ben and Lily's room 7 months ago, I have been waiting for a certain someone to ask if he could sleep in the guest room. He finally asked this week.


  



And lasted all of MAYBE seven minutes, if I really stretch out how long it took him to climb back into his top bunk. As he was walking back to his room, his stuffed dinosaur under one arm and a blanket under the other, he muttered, "I'm going back to my bed." When I asked him what was wrong, he sheepishly said, "I'm lonely in there."


  



I knew exactly how he felt, and I was reminded of a birthday breakfast my mom prepared for me to have in bed one year. I was so lonely eating that breakfast in bed that I ended up downstairs with the others in a matter of minutes.



  


I'm all for silence...occasionally...but it is wonderful when the constant mayhem of siblings is a comfort, when those who know how to most distress you are also those to best soothe you.



  


In Psalm 68, the psalmist says, "God sets the lonely in families..." How often I forget this and view "family" in the strictest technical terms. We are more than just people who share a last name; we are together because God set us together!



   


And I am ashamed when I remember that I should view my church family in the same light. We are more than just people who share a bulletin; we are together because God set us together! Like Benjamin with his siblings, I should be anxious for the times when we can be together. I should feel lonely when I am apart from the Body. And I should rest and rejoice when I am together with the Body, not because it's a perfect Body, but because Christ is the Head.



  


Like the psalmist, I need to remember:




"I lie awake;
   I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop...
My days are like an evening shadow;
   I wither away like grass. "
(Ps. 102: 7,11)   



 


BUT!!! 





"Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
   so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD:
that he looked down from his holy height;
   from heaven the LORD looked at the earth,
to hear the groans of the prisoners,
   to set free those who were doomed to die,
that they may declare in Zion the name of the LORD,
   and in Jerusalem his praise,
when peoples gather together,
   and kingdoms, to worship the LORD
. "
(Ps. 102:18-22)


 


2 comments:

  1. 2 things. First of all, how do you make iced coffee??


    Second, another blog you might like is www.lifewithlittles.com. I've enjoyed it.


    Ü~Kelly

    ReplyDelete
  2. 1) Well, we make it with whatever we happen to have on hand at the time, but if we have it all together (HA!), this is what we do:


    Brew 3 T. coffee in the espresso maker, using the full mini-carafe of water. Divide this into two tall glasses. Add raw sugar (tastes best in tea and coffee, I think) OR a syrup (these already have sugar in them) like creme de menthe or almond. Stir. Add dark chocolate syrup, if you want a mocha. Stir. Add milk until glass is about 3/4 full. Stir. Add ice cubes and stir stir stir until it's cold. Top with whipped cream and enjoy. We happen to like Starbucks Breakfast Blend the best, but use whatever you like.


    When a large amount of people are here and need caffeine, we have also just brewed extra-strong coffee in the regular coffeemaker, added regular sugar and milk and ice and sipped like crazy. You could also brew a large amount and put it in the fridge to dole out later. (This is also what a Toddy is wonderful for!)


    So how's that for a long-winded answer?


    2) I will check out her blog -- thanks!


    Rachel

    ReplyDelete

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