FINDING COMFORT

I am often out waking at dawn, and on the way stopping for an

espresso to caffeine me for company.

This morning, the young woman pulling my espresso tells me she’s

working on an essay for school.

“The subject?” I ask.

“Where are you comfortable?” she answers.

And it gets me thinking.

The nature of the obvious reply for many might be their familiar easy

chair, taking a nap, or perhaps next to friends at a sports event. But

sometimes the obvious is camouflaged by its obviousness. And,

here’s what I would reply in an essay I was not asked to write.

I find comfort in making peace with myself, with my actions and

reactions. The rest is not my work. Any peace we find in life is its own

blessing, and any blessing that does not bring us peace is no

blessing.

I find comfort in talking with God. A long time ago I heard God say,

“You talk; I’ll listen.” I trust that deal still holds.

I find comfort in turning over in bed when I’m dreaming I can’t find my

wife and find her sleeping beside me. Still. Sometimes forever is not

long enough.

I find comfort in holding my infant grandson when he grasps my finger

and holds on tight. It makes me feel like I’m being held in the grip of

eternity. Family is a way of holding hands with forever.

I find comfort in looking at pictures of my children when they were

little and treasure walking with that moment in time in memory’s

secret garden.

I find comfort in discovering I am grateful even more than I am

grasping. Our grasp is only exceeded by what can slip between our

fingers.

I find comfort when something I’m cooking looks back at me and

says, “You know, you’re a pretty good cook.” Life I have learned is

always cooking up something.

I find comfort when people I’m cooking for join me around the table,

take hands, and say a prayer. Gratitude, I have learned is the portal

to all prayer.

I find comfort when I remind myself I’m not supposed to finish my

work here on planet earth, but neither am I excused from it. And it

took me more than a few years to learn that the work in life isn’t what

you do but who you are.

I find comfort when I think someone who is reading this will pause

and think about where they find comfort, and count their blessings,

and know that to count our blessings is also a blessing.

Life is not an essay on easy, so find comfort in reminding yourself

that the best in you can’t be taken but is too often given away. Dear

reader, no one can take your good deeds,, and no one will steal your

troubles.

Find comfort in knowing that letting go is not the same as giving up.

And things don’t have to be good for you to be great.

Find my thank you for the comfort of your company in reading this.

New Book by Noah benShea

WE ARE ALL JACOB’S CHILDREN

A Tale of Hope, Wisdom and Faith

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