Piles

Earlier this week, my mum and dad came down for a visit. This usually means they arrive around lunchtime, and dad will quickly say, “I could die of thirst here”, which is sarcastic code for ‘make me a cup of tea’. I let him off, partly because I'm pretty used to it now, and also because him and mum take me and their granddaughters out for lunch. We went out for cake, and then down to the beach, where it’s customary to throw pebbles in the sea.

I found myself finding a few small, smooth pebbles to bring home. A couple of days later, I read my friend’s blog which happened to mention two men building a ‘pile of stones’ as a witness to their agreement. Of course the stones, weren’t actually a ‘witness’, they didn’t have Googly Eyes on them, as funny as that would be. But they were symbolic of remembering something. A symbol of something known between them, and seen by God.

I decided to put my new little pile of stones on the kitchen windowsill, to remind me in the midst of my busy life that they were symbolic of what is seen and known between me and God, and because they looked kind of cute. As I took a picture of them, I was struck by what was in the background of the picture; all the other ‘stuff’ on my windowsill and then I took another picture of the windowsill in its own little place in my kitchen. And my brain went into overdrive.

There it all was, my life as a mum, captured in one shot: Piles!

There was a box of plasters, a bottle of Calpol, a Basil plant, a home-made money box in the shape of a heart, a small screw driver for battery replacement, Superglue, a thank you card, Sunflower seeds growing in a 4year old’s painted pot, a home-made lady bird, a small plastic thing which looked important enough to not throw away, a plate of painted pebbles, stained Cricket whites, breakfast bowls, a Minion mug, a dish cloth, antibacterial hand wash, pink paint and a paintbrush. Oh and a giant lemon vase filled with shot glasses, a candle, a sticky man, a dummy, a stretchy exercise band and a home-made candle.

I think I’m quite a visual person, and that helps me teach my kids, about God and what His Bible means for us. The Bible itself often has imagery for us to paint a picture in our minds, although we do need someone who has studied it, to help us get to the writer’s meaning.

From my windowsill, I could teach my little people that God binds up the broken hearted, that he came to heal the sick, that he cares about our money, that he does have the ability to fix our problems, although he may instead work on our heart. Also, that we need replenishing, that God sticks close by us haha, that it’s good to be grateful, lots of things about how He grows us, and creativity. I could teach into the sin & stains in our life, and how Jesus’ death has made us white as snow. Maybe how God feeds us and that we need to feed those who are hungry. Also that Jesus is the light of the world, that He brings us comfort, that there is power in the Spirit. About how we should exercise our giftings and look after our bodies. I would have to stretch the imagery, or use Google as a companion, to bring a teaching point out of the Basil, maybe something about flavour. And as for the Minion, my little people would just keep saying "bottom" and we wouldn't get much further than that.

The home-made stuff is a reminder for me, of how they and I were lovingly made and formed by God, and that what I teach them in this household is what they are made of as they grow up and live their own lives.

“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise”. Deuteronomy 6v6-7

I’m sure the husband would rather I just tidy it all up, and chuck all the home-made stuff in the bin. Maybe I could take this symbolism even further and give him a really good reason as to why the Tupperware drawer looks like a Bric a Brac table at a Jumble sale.