This picture is the canning closet in our basement built by the former owner. You can see the shelves labeled with the goods that were put up. I’ve not yet stored my goods there, but I want to. I’ve been on this wanna-be canner kick. You know, from field to can. Preserving vegetables and fruits for winter time. Like in the olden days. I want to rock out the gatherer part of the hunter-gatherer. So, I’ve been reading this book, The How to Can it Book of Vegetables, Fruits and Herbs, by Jacqueline Heriteau. It was written in the 70’s when wheat, avocado green and harvest gold were the happening kitchen colors, so you can just imagine what a show stopper this book is. Anyway, I like it and I’m learning a lot. One day I’m going to can. Until then, I’ll read about it.
Our distant view fogs the edges of yesterday’s sharp experiences.
That’s from a canning book! For some reason that sentence popped out at me. What in the world does that mean? I had to read it about 10 times and then go back and re-read the whole paragraph several times before I could figure out what it was saying. I think it says that things were not always as we remember them to be. That looking back on a situation, an event, a happening, a process, sometimes is very different than when we’re actually living through and experiencing that situation, event, happening or process. The author was talking about what hard work it is to grow your own food and preserve it. Food today is plentiful and readily available for most. In North America we are not completely dependent on what’s outside our kitchen windows to sustain us, thank goodness. In by gone days, not so. Those were very hard days for some.
I’m sure we can all look back on hard times, sharp experiences in our lives and remember generally that they were really difficult times, but, as time goes by, the details become a little clouded, a little blurred. Experiences from our yesterdays we just couldn’t look at in our minds eye, now we lend a darting eye. That’s called healing. King Solomon said there was a time for everything, including a time to heal.
He strengthens those who are weak and tired.
Isaiah 40:29
I love this verse. So simple. So to the point. How many life experiences make us weak and tired. Here Isaiah reminds us of God’s promise. He will strengthen us in those experiences that make us weak and tired.
For this reason we never become discouraged. Even though our physical being is gradually decaying, yet our spiritual being is renewed day after day. And this small and temporary trouble we suffer will bring us a tremendous and eternal glory, much greater than the trouble. For we fix our attention, not on things that are seen, but on things that are unseen. What can be seen lasts only for a time, but what cannot be seen lasts forever.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
So, He will heal, He will strengthen, He will smooth down the sharp edges of those difficult experiences here on earth and He promises even more for eternity.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Revelation 21:4