My Chair
And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Hebrews 13:16
My husband’s aunt came to visit his mother last week. She is in her eighties and apparently has difficulty sleeping in a bed. At home she sleeps in a recliner, a piece of furniture my mother-in-law no longer possesses. She used to have a nice recliner but when she bought her new furniture she gave it to our son for his room. When he moved out he left the chair and then it made its home in my office. It has become my chair. Read that the way I would say it to you, MY CHAIR. I love that chair. It’s my prayer chair, my Bible study chair and my just sit and read chair.
Guess where my chair has been for the past ten days? At mother-in-laws house. She didn’t ask for it. I offered it back to her when she explained her sister’s issue with beds. It was the right thing to do and I not only knew that but never hesitated to offer it. I did, teasingly, make sure that Gigi [my mother-in-law] knew it was a loan.
My husband took it to his mother’s house and she joked that she had forgotten how nice it was and maybe she wouldn’t give it back. WHAT? Oh, oh, it’s a joke. Ha-ha! Then the sister/aunt arrived.
In the way of many old and infirm people Auntie likes to discuss the rapid decline of her health. She likes to do a litany of the many ways in which her body is failing her and each litany comes with the caution that she may not be with us much longer. She may, in fact, not live long enough to need a ride back to her home state. Which caused my husband to joke, (what is with these people and their sick jokes?) that she may die in….. wait for it…. MY CHAIR! Excuse me? Okay, that is not nice but she does bring up her death fairly often and my husband has known her all of his life. I guess it’s okay for him to tease her about her demise. It is not at all humorous, however, to suppose it could happen in my chair, not at all humorous.
This evening we had Gigi and Auntie at our house for dinner. Again we had the litany of aliments followed by a quick interview about things that have gone wrong or could go wrong for us, as she points out, we “aren’t gittin’ any younger.” Tonight though, Auntie was quick to tell us that every day she counts her blessings. She added that while she has been here she has been “ever so grateful to have that recliner chair” aka, my chair.
Suddenly the chair didn’t seem like a teasing or joking matter. While I certainly haven’t given any thought or concern to Auntie dying in my chair, I have missed it. That may seem ridiculous but that chair plays an important role in my day to day life. When I am studying in that chair my desk chair becomes a desk. Odd logic but if you could see it, it would make sense. I have missed my chair. I will be happy to have it back but not nearly as happy as I was to know that sharing it made someone’s life a great deal happier.
During the litany of issues was always the mention of the fact that after a certain age, life is just not fun. Auntie told us more than once that there is little in her life that is pleasurable. Having that chair wasn’t just a pleasure, she counted it as a blessing. And now I can count sharing it as a blessing as well.
It was truly a very small sacrifice on my part but it had a great impact. Now I’m looking around. What else could I lend or give away to make someone that happy? I don’t know yet, but I’m hoping God will tell me.
My husband’s aunt came to visit his mother last week. She is in her eighties and apparently has difficulty sleeping in a bed. At home she sleeps in a recliner, a piece of furniture my mother-in-law no longer possesses. She used to have a nice recliner but when she bought her new furniture she gave it to our son for his room. When he moved out he left the chair and then it made its home in my office. It has become my chair. Read that the way I would say it to you, MY CHAIR. I love that chair. It’s my prayer chair, my Bible study chair and my just sit and read chair.
Guess where my chair has been for the past ten days? At mother-in-laws house. She didn’t ask for it. I offered it back to her when she explained her sister’s issue with beds. It was the right thing to do and I not only knew that but never hesitated to offer it. I did, teasingly, make sure that Gigi [my mother-in-law] knew it was a loan.
My husband took it to his mother’s house and she joked that she had forgotten how nice it was and maybe she wouldn’t give it back. WHAT? Oh, oh, it’s a joke. Ha-ha! Then the sister/aunt arrived.
In the way of many old and infirm people Auntie likes to discuss the rapid decline of her health. She likes to do a litany of the many ways in which her body is failing her and each litany comes with the caution that she may not be with us much longer. She may, in fact, not live long enough to need a ride back to her home state. Which caused my husband to joke, (what is with these people and their sick jokes?) that she may die in….. wait for it…. MY CHAIR! Excuse me? Okay, that is not nice but she does bring up her death fairly often and my husband has known her all of his life. I guess it’s okay for him to tease her about her demise. It is not at all humorous, however, to suppose it could happen in my chair, not at all humorous.
This evening we had Gigi and Auntie at our house for dinner. Again we had the litany of aliments followed by a quick interview about things that have gone wrong or could go wrong for us, as she points out, we “aren’t gittin’ any younger.” Tonight though, Auntie was quick to tell us that every day she counts her blessings. She added that while she has been here she has been “ever so grateful to have that recliner chair” aka, my chair.
Suddenly the chair didn’t seem like a teasing or joking matter. While I certainly haven’t given any thought or concern to Auntie dying in my chair, I have missed it. That may seem ridiculous but that chair plays an important role in my day to day life. When I am studying in that chair my desk chair becomes a desk. Odd logic but if you could see it, it would make sense. I have missed my chair. I will be happy to have it back but not nearly as happy as I was to know that sharing it made someone’s life a great deal happier.
During the litany of issues was always the mention of the fact that after a certain age, life is just not fun. Auntie told us more than once that there is little in her life that is pleasurable. Having that chair wasn’t just a pleasure, she counted it as a blessing. And now I can count sharing it as a blessing as well.
It was truly a very small sacrifice on my part but it had a great impact. Now I’m looking around. What else could I lend or give away to make someone that happy? I don’t know yet, but I’m hoping God will tell me.
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