Peace and beauty can be found in the hard places of life if you know how to look. Like most of us, my friend, Jeff is fighting some battles in his life. Yet, he launches his photography drone regularly, seeking out beautiful shots like this one. He shares the captured peace and beauty of a moment with others, and we are refreshed. Our muddled minds stop for a moment to think about something lovely.
We are reminded that God is good, and his creation is good.
“Well, that’s great for him,” you might say. “I don’t live by a lake. I barely have grass where I live.” I get that. I’ve lived and worked in places that possess little natural beauty. So, in those places, I became ferocious, hunting for space to refresh, unwind and reconnect with God. At one point the only place of quiet and beauty to be found was the furnace room of my workplace.
While my husband Ken plowed through grad school, I worked as a music therapist in an upscale skilled care facility. The luxurious accommodations suited the tastes of the wealthy clientele whose family members suffered from dementia, stroke damage, multiple sclerosis and other debilitating conditions.
The interior designers for the facility created a lush environment for the patients with soothing wall colors, artwork, and sturdy, washable furniture designed to look like the expensive pieces the patients were used to in their homes. Several landscaped courtyards came complete with flower gardens, benches, and fountains. So why did I retreat to a furnace room instead of enjoying the luxury and beauty throughout the facility and grounds?
The problem? The noise level created by frustrated, lonely patients and overworked, unhappy staff. The patients and staff in Brentwood Rehab did not know God personally. Going through hard things without him is rough. Working with short-tempered patients is rough. In the two and a half years I worked there, it wasn’t until my last six months that God brought another Christ follower on staff.
The people of Brentwood tried to cope with the crushing blows of life
without God’s grace and strength.
It made for a volatile atmosphere.
The patients were wealthy movers and shakers of industry, arts, and entertainment. I worked with former concert pianists, artists, and several former CEOs of Fortune Five Hundred companies. Many of the residents came from homes that included servants’ quarters or at the very least, employees like housekeepers, gardeners, nannies, etc. Many of them lived in a state of grief and anger at the hand life dealt them through sickness and disease.
These former artists, entertainers and company presidents deeply missed their previous lives and treated most of the staff rather poorly. The staff responded in kind by taking their time to clean up messes, trash talking people who couldn’t talk back and generally letting it be known that they were in charge, not the residents. I became accustomed to the symphony of screaming, shouting, weeping and general despair. Sadly, many of the patients’ families rarely visited, which hurt and angered them more. To say this place had a negative vibe is an understatement.
During breaks and lunch hours, in the employee break room, I found no relief from the chaos. Employees spent their breaks complaining about management, patients, and their families. Finally, after a few months of this, I discovered the furnace room by accident while hunting for a mop. The only sounds in the spacious room were the wooshes and thumps of the air blowing through the ducts. There were three different lunch periods, so no one noticed my disappearance when I began to eat my lunch in the mechanical room.
I found some chairs and a table already set up in the room, covered in dust. Someone found this haven before me but probably left on one of the tidal waves of staff turnover that occurred regularly. I brought books to read while I ate and savored the silence. I talked to God. Like the rest of the facility, the room was well lit, painted, and clean. To me, it was beautiful.
After a couple of months, one of my coworkers discovered my hiding place and asked if she could join me. I welcomed her on one condition. No talking. Eventually, five of us wound used the furnace room as an escape from the daily chaos. We sat in silence, eating, reading, allowing our mind and hearts to refresh and regroup to return to the challenges of our work.
I’ll never forget that furnace room.
God used that furnace room and me to
create a quiet place for myself and others.
And that made it lovely.
You may be struggling to find beauty and peace in your home or work life. Health issues my be preventing you from getting out in creation. Ask God to show you your places and times of quiet and beauty where you can refresh and reconnect with him. You might need to get creative and ferocious in carving out some space and time. Don’t wait until something in you breaks down. Our Father did not design us to exist in perpetual chaos.
It is always his will for his children to enjoy
beauty and peace in this world.
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