The Hall of my Heart
When a hard reality can't be replaced, might we place alongside it (however small) the goodness that also lives there?
What’s hanging on the hall of your heart?
Yesterday, I went to Trader Joe’s by myself. I didn’t have my scooter, my walker, or even my cane - all previously necessary accessories. I walked into and through that grocery store like any able-bodied person.
This simple act is significant because for almost 20 years now, I’ve lived with Erythromelalgia, a condition that has caused severe pain in my feet, making it sometimes excruciating to stand.
But yesterday, I didn’t rush. I didn’t panic. I didn’t even think about my feet until I was loading the car and realized the significance of what had just happened!
I paused to rejoice and do a little parking lot jig.
This seemingly ordinary moment was momentous for me. A moment I wanted to mark. To frame. To hang on the hall of my heart for remembrance, recollection, and rejoicing.
This is a new practice I want to engage in whenever I get glimpses of goodness or grace. I want to hang them on the halls of my heart.
I picture a long corridor filled with memories and moments. Some dark, dusty, and outdated ones could be taken down. Truth be told, I find myself wanting to remove all the ones that allude to less than perfect moments. But just as I am about to do a clean sweep, I am reminded of the both/and of my life.
The failures, griefs, and troubles hanging here are real. Part and parcel of my life. They need not be eliminated, but might they be accompanied by these new bits of beauty and glimpses of grace? A both/and display.
I realize I might not always be able to displace or replace a hard reality. However, I can place alongside it (however small) the goodness that also lives here.
The apostle Paul hung power made perfect next to his affliction (2 Corinthians 12).
What might I choose?
I began to pray: Help me God, to frame the fabulous alongside the frustrating, the graces alongside the grief. To nestle the beauty next to the broken bits, the sweet alongside the stress, and the moments of redemption right there with my regrets.
When we walk the corridor of time, through the halls of our hearts, may we know the hurt and the hard are not all that’s there.
As Jacob once said in the midst of a long journey, “Surely God is in this place and I did not know it” (Genesis 28:16).
Hall of my Heart: Our Little Life Words of the week.
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DEEPER DIVE
Ponder:
What is hanging on the hall of your heart?
What might you place alongside it?
Practice:
Go to a thrift store and buy some picture frames. When you experience even a glimpse of goodness or bit of beauty, find a way to frame it and then, literally, hang it on your wall.
Play:
Our song of the week is Ordinary Days by JJ Heller.
Pray:
Dear God, hang your goodness alongside my grief, your attentiveness near my anxiety, your care right up close to each of my concerns.
PS: what an awesome miracle to walk unassisted thru Trader Joe’s !!! I am delighted for you ✨✨✨
Oh, Jenny, surely! I so feel you. Every time I walk in the park...