Last week, a close friend and I had a long talk–the kind where you open your heart and share your soul. We mentioned a few things we’d been praying about for years and decided that certain problems just drag into infinity.
“I remember thinking that by the time I turned 30, I wouldn’t have any more problems,” I said. “Isn’t that crazy?”
“Me too. Definitely by 40.”
“Do you think anyone actually lives that way? Without problems?”
“If so, I don’t want to meet them.”
“Don’t you wish we could take a giant iron and smooth out all the wrinkles in life?”
“Yeah, a wrinkle-free world. That’d be great.”
Later that day, our conversation about a wrinkle-free life gave me a strong desire to iron. My ironing board is upstairs in a spare bedroom.
As I began ironing, I remembered my grandmother’s old wooden ironing board across the hall, in my office.
When my mother was growing up, a teenage girl named Jimmie kept her during the day.
Mother loved Jimmie.
She said Jimmie’s skin was the color of eggplants–so soft and smooth. Jimmie used to let Mother touch her arms while she ironed.
(Jimmie and Mother, May 1938, right after my grandfather died.)
When Mother was six, Jimmy had a baby boy. Being an only child, Mother was thrilled. My grandmother let Jimmie bring him to work. Mother pretended he was her little brother.
The two of them sat under the ironing board while Jimmie ironed.
And every time Jimmie ironed, she sang hymns–deep, rich praise songs from the bottom of her soul. It was a spiritual thing, Mother said.
Jimmie didn’t live a wrinkle-free life. She had problems like the rest of us.
Almost seventy-five years later, my mother still remembers Jimmie’s faith.
And then something caught my attention on my grandmother’s ironing board.
A recovery rock.
An Al-Anon friend painted it for me a few years ago.
An unmistakable softness filled me.
Peace doesn’t mean the absence of problems. Peace means believing God’s in control. No matter what. Click to Tweet.
“… In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NIV Click to Tweet.
Have you ever wondered if other people had problem-free lives?
Is there a Jimmie in your life–someone whose faith helps keep you centered?
Thoughts on trusting God?
Love,
Julie
