Sandra Heska King

daring to open doors

  • Home
  • About
  • DISCLOSURES
    • Amazon Affiliate
    • Book Reviews
  • Published
  • Contact
  • Blog
    • Commit Poetry
    • Dared

Puzzling the Pieces and Feeling Like Home

November 17, 2011 By Sandra Heska King

We’ve gone to the family room to Skype them in, the friends from the Netherlands.

This technology, it’s new to my dad.

My sister tries to describe the room we’re in. The sofa, she says, pulls out into a double bed. And the chairs recline.

I’m surprised. They recline? Did they tell us that? They have no lever.

I try one.

It reclines.

And I fall asleep during the conversation.

They say they heard me snore all the way to the Netherlands.

But I don’t believe them.

Later when my dad and sister have left with the laptop, I sit and listen to the house sounds.

The man in room seven is playing his guitar and singing. And then I hear guitar and flute together. Or is that a recorder? His sister must be visiting.

I hear a door close and the hum of furnace and the rattle of dishes in the kitchen.

I hear my sister laugh down the hall.

This place, it’s beginning to feel like home.

I head down to the lobby and settle in a wingback to puzzle the pieces.

My head droops lower to the table.

And my arms slip against the glass top.

And then I pick up the pieces and slide them back into place.

This doing nothing, this waiting, it’s exhausting.

Later the three of us gather around the table.

And my sister says someone has touched her hair.

But we are alone.

And later, “Guys! I’m not kidding!”

I look around the room and think about where we are.

And the aide rises from behind the wingback, and we laugh and laugh.

And we tell her she’s one of us.

Then she tells us about the lady in room five who had several tables in her room and made things. She was in pain but would still go out and buy things to bring back and make things. She’d move from table to table making things.

And then she tells us about the man, months later, in room five who complained about not being able to sleep because “she” kept moving from table to table “making things.”

We ask another about the rumor we heard that the deer only come when someone leaves. And she shrugs and smiles. There are a lot of things that happen here that we can’t explain, she says.

And I puzzle the pieces.

And watch the deer.

And that night we wave goodbye to John who heads out the front door on a stretcher. He’s going home to his daughter’s house.

And this place, it’s beginning to feel like home.

 

Share this:

  • Email
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest

Filed Under: stories and reflections

Comments

  1. HisFireFly says

    November 18, 2011 at 10:18 am

    Love and prayers and more
    as you wait
    and He waits
    with much greater patience
    for He knows the time

    and He IS home
    for her
    for him
    for all of us

    and home is always open door
    open heart
    ready to wrap us in love

    may you feel Him in a fresh and tangible way today, dear Snady!

    • Sandra says

      November 18, 2011 at 6:15 pm

      You have such a beautiful way with words, Karin. Waiting with you.

  2. S. Etole says

    November 18, 2011 at 11:19 am

    I’ve heard it said that deer represent God-seekers in scripture. Possibly akin to deep-sea divers.

    Prayers as you puzzle during this time.

    • Sandra says

      November 18, 2011 at 6:15 pm

      Ah, Susan. I’ve emailed you…

  3. Brandee Shafer says

    November 18, 2011 at 11:54 am

    I think this is my favorite, Sandy, of your posts I’ve read. I love how you’re resting in the mystery and timing of the Lord. When we seek Him, He never hides from us.

    Also, I love how the aide messed with your sister’s hair. So funny. God bless her for comic relief.

    • Sandra says

      November 18, 2011 at 6:16 pm

      Aww thanks, Brandee. There is much mystery. Experienced it today.

  4. Megan Willome says

    November 18, 2011 at 12:14 pm

    I did not think anyone could make me appreciate a deer, but you did it, Sandy!

    Still praying.

    • Sandra says

      November 18, 2011 at 6:17 pm

      Loved Susan’s words above. There is more I’ll need to share…

  5. Linda says

    November 18, 2011 at 4:42 pm

    Your words…your heart. Dear Sandy – here just praying for you, for all of you. It really is so exhausting – that waiting, the doing nothing. But the moments could for eternity,and you love so well.

    • Sandra says

      November 18, 2011 at 6:18 pm

      The strength in the waiting–it comes through you and the others that bear us up on wings of love and prayer.

  6. Linda says

    November 18, 2011 at 4:43 pm

    Oh dear. That should be count not could (I never edit and obviously I should).

    • Sandra says

      November 18, 2011 at 6:19 pm

      😀 😀

  7. Joanne Norton says

    November 18, 2011 at 9:37 pm

    The story… heart-filling, heart-rending, heart-touching, and overall beautiful.

    • Sandra says

      November 19, 2011 at 8:23 am

      Overall blessed. 🙂

  8. imperfect prose says

    November 18, 2011 at 11:34 pm

    oh sandra…how hard this time, yet how beautiful, too, and what a home, with all of those colors in the furniture… and i love that you fell asleep in the recliner. continue to rest, friend, while we pray. love e.

    • Sandra says

      November 19, 2011 at 8:25 am

      This place gives space and beauty and a slower pace. It’s all about caring and comfort. It’s a good place to rest. Love you, Emily.

  9. Nancy says

    November 19, 2011 at 8:31 am

    There’s something very soothing about puzzles, sitting for long periods of time, trying to get the pieces to fit. Waiting with you, praying.

    • Sandra says

      November 22, 2011 at 9:41 pm

      Working on a puzzle has such a mindless component. 🙂 Thanks, Nancy, for your prayers.

  10. Carolyn Counterman says

    November 21, 2011 at 3:01 am

    Sandra, I’m in tears. My precious Mama loved putting puzzles together. I caught a glimpse of the photo and immediately recognized the puzzle you were working on as one that Mama and I had put together. Miss her so.

    Praying for your family.

    • Sandra says

      November 22, 2011 at 9:43 pm

      Oh Carolyn. That just gave me chills. I lift you up every time I see you around cyberspace.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Meet Sandra

I’m Sandra, a camera-toting, recovering doer who’s learning to be. still. Read more…

Get updates from the stillness by email

Your personal information is safe and will never be shared.

Archives

Categories

Instagram Inspiration

sandraheskaking

“Truly, we live with mysteries too marvelous to “Truly, we live with mysteries too marvelous to be understood. . . Let me keep company always with those who say “Look!” and laugh in astonishment and bow their heads.” ~ Mary Oliver in “Mysteries, Yes”
🌱
No way could anyone ever convince me that this world in all its beauty and creativity and mysteries is here by accident.
Food truck night with a newcomer—@crepstick. So Food truck night with a newcomer—@crepstick. So yummy! I hope they come back.  But maybe not too often or I’ll have to do double time on the exercise.
“Embrace this day knowing and showing the world “Embrace this day knowing and showing the world that your God is more than enough for you.”
🌿
@tamiheim @tonibirdsong 
In @stickyJesus: How to Live Out Your Faith Online
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the str My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion.” Psalm 73:26 (ESV)
🌿
I’d almost forgotten what quiet mornings on the patio were like. (Quiet except for the birds and the sound of the neighbor’s AC.)
So yesterday I saw my cardiologist. It was the fir So yesterday I saw my cardiologist. It was the first time he wanted to see me in 6 months instead of a year. He said my aortic stenosis had gotten worse. Like on the cusp of moderate to severe. 😬

So the first thing he asks me is, "How's you daughter?" Wait. Isn't this supposed to be about ME?

Then he asks if I've had any symptoms. "Well, I don't know. Maybe. I felt a little dizzy out of the blue a couple times. And felt like I couldn't catch my breath. I wouldn't have paid any attention if I didn't know I was supposed to be watching for symptoms. I DID walk all over Israel and up a bunch of steep hills, even all the way up to the Golan Heights--against the wind--without anything but normal fatigue.

He laughs. "I created a monster." Ummm, yeah.

"Have you been exercising?" 

"Well, yeah. We walk a couple miles a day. I'm back on my Nordictrack Strider." I didn't tell him I'd been lifting some light weights and some very heavy boxes and other items during this renovation, though I was told in December not to.

So he listens to the beating of my heart. Then he says, "Well, I don't think the valve is ripe yet. I don't expect you to have symptoms for three or four years. You don't need to come back for a year."

Wait! So you ask if I have symptoms. But you don't expect symptoms--yet. And when I do have symptoms, someone is gonna do something. And then I'll be older and maybe weaker. Or what if I have some sudden and silent symptom and boom! And now I have to worry about that. 

(In other news, my oldest grand texts me the other day, and our conversation runs like this...
Last weekend we were in northern Michigan. And the Last weekend we were in northern Michigan. And there were lilacs. They even shook their heads over tornado-induced devastation. Look for the beauty and sweet scents in the midst of the mess. I miss the lilacs.
Yesterday’s morning view. We haven’t seen the Yesterday’s morning view. We haven’t seen the sun all day today.
When the folks in my hometown of Gaylord, Michigan When the folks in my hometown of Gaylord, Michigan ate their breakfast Friday morning, they had no idea what terror and devastation they'd face before dinner. Everyone has a story. You've probably seen pictures.

If not, take a peek at @mlivenews .

My great-nephew, not quite 12, had just gotten home from school when the EF-3 came down the street and left its mark on every home. My niece frantically tried to find her way from work through debris and blocked roads. My sister was 30 miles away visiting my dad in rehab. I don't want to know how fast my brother-in-law drove. 

The house and yard took a hit, worse than some, not as bad as others. A mobile home park was demolished--two deaths there. I heard one person is still missing. So many injured. So much awful. But the town is coming together for each other. Pray for them.

We plan to fly up Thursday--already planned to celebrate my dad's 95th birthday. 

Also, if anyone feels led to help, the Otsego Community Foundation and Otsego County United Way are accepting donations. Note “Tornado Relief.” Beware of any other fundraising requests.
Cutting tonight’s walk short. Stupid blue jay. N Cutting tonight’s walk short. Stupid blue jay. Not this one. A different one. But still. (My niece believes blue jays are a visitation from Grandma—my mom.) 
My shirt says “Walk in love. But I’m not feeling very loving. And if it WAS my Mom AKA Mother Mary Esther of the Order of Perpetual Birdwatchers, I’ll bet she’s having a good laugh. A passerby said she heard it was good luck and I should buy a lottery ticket tonight. In other news, I also banged my hip bone against our bed’s footboard and gave myself a mighty bruise. Then I burned my arm on the top of the grill. I did manage to wash all the knives without cutting myself and didn’t start any fires. So how was your day?
And now… “From the rising of the sun to the pl And now… “From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised.”
The world’s a mess, but His mercies are new. The world’s a mess, but His mercies are new.
When we were in Israel last month, we visited @yad When we were in Israel last month, we visited @yadvashem - the World Holocaust Center in Jerusalem. There wasn't enough time to spend nearly enough time. 

The Valley of the Communities was very moving. It's a labyrinth of stone from which there seems no way out. Our guide said It gives an idea of the endlessness of the horror. His parents emigrated from Vilna (the Jerusalem of Lithuania), before the Holocaust. In 1935, thirteen of his family members still remained there. By 1945 only one--an uncle--had survived. He wrote a book about them from a bundle of old letters. "One story out of millions."

"This memorial commemorates the Jewish communities destroyed by Nazi Germany and its collaborators, and the few which suffered but survived in the shadow of the Holocaust."
#Israel2022 #HolocaustRemembranceDay
“From my favorite spot on the floor, I look up a “From my favorite spot on the floor, I look up at the blue sky and the bare chestnut tree on whose branches little raindrops shine, appearing like silver, ” Anne Frank wrote in the Diary of a Young Girl. Watching the tree change through the seasons her family spent in hiding in an attic gave her hope. The Holocaust Memorial Center is one of only eleven sites in the United States to receive a sapling from that tree. I stand at “her” window and imagine hanging hope on a tree.

"It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say. It can happen, and it can happen everywhere.” ~ Primo Levi

From a post I wrote for @tspoetry after a visit to the @holocaustcenter.

https://www.tweetspeakpoetry.com/2016/07/27/regional-tour-holocaust-memorial-center-farmington-hills-michigan/
Stunning tree I parked near at Bible study yesterd Stunning tree I parked near at Bible study yesterday. I was in a rush and failed to snap the whole tree. I need to run back before the flowers fall. I think it’s a jacaranda? I want one.
Speaking of birds... bluejay in my backyard this a Speaking of birds... bluejay in my backyard this afternoon. I thought he was hurt, but I think he was just trying to cool off. (Maybe it's a young one.... unless it's the light?)
Someone should do something about that dog. She’ Someone should do something about that dog. She’s yelping and carrying on like she’s in some awful pain.
“Now in the place where he was crucified there w “Now in the place where he was crucified there was a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.” ~ John 19:41

“But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay…’”~ Matthew 28:5-6

Many wonder if this tomb, which lies just a few yards west of Golgotha could be the place where Jesus lay and rose. I wish we could have lingered longer here in this garden and in the tomb itself. It was easier for me to imagine the events of that weekend happening here than in the heavily incensed, decorated, dark and crowded Church of the Holy Sepulchre… though my hairdresser said her old boyfriend “got chills”’when he entered that tomb. We did not go inside that one because the line was way too long. 

At any rate, the most important thing is that he tomb is EMPTY and HE IS RISEN!

HAPPY EASTER!
#Israel2022 #GardenTomb #Easter
 “Peter said to him, ‘Lord, I am ready to g 
“Peter said to him, ‘Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death’ Jesus said, ‘I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day until you deny three times that you know me.’” ~ Luke 22:33-34

The Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu (rooster crowing) built over what tradition says was the house of Caiaphas where Jesus was brought after he was arrested. Perhaps he was imprisoned in one of the underground crypts while awaiting trial. 

“On top of the church, higher than the cross—I loved this—stands a golden rooster! I’ll never look at a weathervane the same again. How would you like to have a church commemorate your weakest moment?” ~ Wayne Stiles in Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus

#Israel2022 #GoodFriday
The olive trees here are ancient… some carbon da The olive trees here are ancient… some carbon dates to the 12th century, according to my Eyewitness book on Jerusalem. “DNA tests have shown that eight of the trees grew from cuttings from the same mother tree—perhaps taken by Christians who believed the tree to have witnessed Jesus’s agony.” 

Gethsemane means “olive press.” Jesus was pressed to his very depths that night.  He knew what was ahead. He could have run far away. But he went where he knew Judas would look for him. 

“And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.’ And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” ~ Luke 22:41-44

Garden of Gethsemane and Church of the Nations

#Israel2022
A "blue preacher" right outside my door, nearly as A "blue preacher" right outside my door, nearly as tall as I am. I wonder what he's wondering. Is he finding the answer blowing in the wind?

"Watch, now, how I start the day
in happiness, in kindness." ~ Mary Oliver in "Why I Wake Early"
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Get the Mug

Embrace the life you have t s poetry mug

Privacy Policy

Full privacy policy is available HERE.

I Read Light

TSP-Red button

bibledude-net



Sponsor a Child

Join the Compassion Blogger Network

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2022 Sandra Heska King · Site by The Willingham Enterprise, LLC on the Genesis Framework by StudioPress · Log in