A year ago our son suggested that he could bring his family to live in our home office for as long as they were building their new house. That meant we had to start clearing the room.
”The wind gathered its strength and blew even harder. The trees bent down and the water surged and boiled, but the traveler just wrapped his cloak more tightly around him.” This is an extract from a fairy tale titled The sun and the wind, which was written by Aesop more than 2500 years ago.
The one who came in first was holding a small bird in his hands. The bird was bruised and stiff with cold, seemingly lifeless, but its heart was beating under its dull-colored feathers.
I am pondering and turning sentences around in my mind. I already have a pile of papers covered in writing. But I am still wondering if I should write about this topic, although my friend encouraged me to do so?
I have been a child, an adolescent and a middle-aged lady, and I retired many years ago. So what? Each reader of this blog has been a child and is now at some older age. Growing old and real old age are something quite different.
This is a story from the time when people did not have mobile phones. Nor were there any street lights or neighbors near the house where all this happened.
I will remember this day for ever. My husband said he expects us to touch on the topic again over the weeks to come. I told him we most definitely will.
We pedaled our bikes together against strong headwind. I complained a little because my bike was so heavy to pedal and I felt cold. We had gone for a jog or a bike ride every single evening during the lockdown. My husband asked me to bike by his side in such a way that he could protect me from the worst wind. How romantic!
Summer in Finland is short indeed. Is it even shorter now than when I was a child? Or have I just, in the middle of the hustle and bustle of daily life, forgotten to pause and enjoy the warmth of the summer, the soft breeze and the buzzing insects?
Deep in thought I walk through the double doors. There is a table with four hand sanitizer dispensers. I rub the liquid into my hands and look around. Cheerful expressions. But also some bewilderment. How should we go about this?
That evening I sat slumped on the edge of my bed. I did not have the energy to cry, but the tears on my cheeks kept flowing on their own. I was thinking about my own and my husband’s health. I was wondering if our children would get enough joy and support. I was worried about our mortgage, the price of the confirmation camp, the high cost of the upcoming opisto year, the number of medical appointments. All things that piled up to make a burden. I tried to calculate the equation of sickness benefits and home care allowance, until I just could not go on any more. I stared ahead with unseeing eyes and prayed.
Last spring I was especially lonesome for my mother. The mother who was ready to manage and take care of all things, with whom I could share my joys and sorrows, who helped me plant tomatoes seedlings and lettuce, tend to flowers, and marvel at the miracles of spring and summer. The mother with whom I sat at services and shed tears of joy while singing a touching song. The mother who always asked me if I had had a good day and saw right away if things had not been good.
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Kirjoittajat eri puolilta maailmaa kertovat siitä, kuinka Jumala on johdattanut heidät valtakuntaansa. Kertomuksia yhdistää kokemus kotiinpaluusta, Raamatun mukaisen uskon löytymisestä ja uskovaisten välisestä rakkaudesta.
SRK:n vuosikirja 2020 kuvaa monipuolisesti aikamme ilmiöitä ja osallisuuden tuomaa siunausta. Se muistuttaa, että Jumala pitää omistaan huolen myös monien uhkakuvien maailmassa.
Luetuimmat
Toimitus suosittelee
Viikon kysymys
Ilmoitukset
Kirjoittajat eri puolilta maailmaa kertovat siitä, kuinka Jumala on johdattanut heidät valtakuntaansa. Kertomuksia yhdistää kokemus kotiinpaluusta, Raamatun mukaisen uskon löytymisestä ja uskovaisten välisestä rakkaudesta.
SRK:n vuosikirja 2020 kuvaa monipuolisesti aikamme ilmiöitä ja osallisuuden tuomaa siunausta. Se muistuttaa, että Jumala pitää omistaan huolen myös monien uhkakuvien maailmassa.