Look At Where We Are Now

He sat in his new La-Z-Boy recliner in the newly built room, an addition to the old pre-existing house, which now serves as the primary living room.

I had stopped by to drop something off and got pulled into a lengthy conversation about absolutely nothing without realizing it. Then the conversation took a turn that I wasn’t expecting.

“Things never were easy for us.” He was putting that new rocker recliner to good use. “Times were hard. Me and Ma had to work hard and were barely scraping by sometimes.” That rocker will be broken in before the week is over.

Ma chimed in. “Yeah, I’d take on ironing and washing. I’d use so much starch on those shirts.” She paused to laugh. “It’s a wonder they could put ‘em on once I got through with ‘em!” She had a new rocker recliner, too.

They were in their late seventies.

“I worked in the fields, and after a full day there, I’d go out and work until after dark somewhere’s else. Just odds and ends stuff. Tryin’ to make a buck anywhere I could.”

“Yeah, he was a hard worker and a good provider,” Ma said matter-of-factly. “He did everything he could for us.” Her eyes brimmed with admiration.

They looked at each other. Years of being together allowed them to communicate without a word. They knew what the other was thinking.

They reached across the chasm and the end table that separated their new chairs. They squeezed each other’s hands.

“Yeah, we never had much money left over at the end of the month. In fact, it was more like we had a lot of month left over at the end of our money.”

“We sure did. But God always made a way.”

And then came the phrase that stuck out to me.

“And look at where we are now!” she observed as she swept her free hand horizontally through the air.

“Yeah, look at where we are now.” He repeated with a contented smile stretched across his face.

“We’ve got everything we could ever want or need.”

I looked around.

Their home wasn’t a mansion, but it had long since been paid off. This room had been added for when their growing family came over. There seemed to be more grandkids each time they had a get-together.

Brand new chairs, a new room, new carpet that isn’t frayed, and new windows that didn’t act as ventilation.

They hadn’t ever lived high on the hog. But compared to the years of scraping by and raising their children in cramped quarters, look at where they are now!

In the closing years of my life, I want to be able to look around and notice God’s blessings — big and small.

Maybe I won’t be rich beyond compare, but hopefully, I’ll be able to look over at my wife sitting in the neighboring rocker recliner and say, “Honey, just look at where we are now!”

to those on their way,
– Caleb