Bench Stories

Do you have a bench story?
I was about five years old when, one day, I stretched out on my grandmother's bench
and found out the length fit me from head to toe.
How amazing was that?
For some time after that I was known to try to impress others
by telling them, "Ich bin so gross wie Oma Ihre Bank!"
(I'm as big as Oma's bench!)



This photo, taken by Beatriz Photography for the Celebrations cookbook,
shows a beautifully set table with a bench.
 The bench was made by my father-in-law,
the kind of bench he would have made to flank their family kitchen table -
a table around which many a simple meal was shared.
To me a bench says,
"We can make room . . . you are welcome!"

To be honest, my heart is not always as big as Oma's bench -
it does not stretch unending -
but I'm thankful for family and friends who understand
and to God who knows just how to meet me where I'm at.
  
His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men,
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth and giveth and giveth again.

(verse from hymn - He Giveth Grace, by Annie J. Flint)