West Cocoa Chat

I wonder if anyone has ever started their blog with a picture of a couch? I thought we’d “couch” that subject today. What goes into the thought processes behind buying furniture such as a couch? Can we be a bit sexist here and say most guys look for comfort as in how does this couch feel when I’m vegging, remote in hand, switching between ESPN and the Discovery Channel while most ladies look for a tasteful blend into whatever décor matches their living room. Either way, this couch is very special to me.

It was bought and owned by my mother and father. I have images in my mind of my Dad and yes, even my Mom lying on this couch. This couch would be the last piece of furniture my Mother would “enjoy.” A week before we moved into our new home which had a Mother-in-Law’s Quarters built over our garage, we learned that Mom’s cancer had returned with a vengeance. Mom was one of those “lucky” people who had never smoked but was now stricken with lung cancer. I can still remember picking my Mother off that couch and carrying her down the stairs to make her last trip in a car as we headed for the hospital.

A few years later the couch would make a trip to our preacher’s office. We gave him the couch along with some chairs that belonged to Mom.

It was a time when we only had me and one other person for Elders. We met mostly in Don’s Office sitting on Mom’s furniture. Somehow I always felt her spirit close to me when we sat on that couch.

Earlier this year as many of you know, we went through a challenging yet rewarding time as we contemplated merging with a local conservative Christian Church. There was one particular meeting among ourselves (4 and Don at the time) where we nearly let fear and tribal instincts get the best of us. To say that meeting was heated would be an understatement. Yet, sitting on Mom’s couch gave me a peace and also a mandate to not allow our meeting to end in division. Fortunately the Holy Spirit prevailed and we walked out of our most heated meeting, united and more in love with each other than ever before. I just knew Mom was smiling and maybe even uttering a heavenly, “Cecil, you’re a good son. I knew you would listen to your heart.”

Fast forward to a few weeks ago and now the couch sits in this storage room as we have remodeled Don’s and Brenda’s offices. New furniture has replaced Mom’s couch and so it sits in this room. But just like Mom it isn’t staying still for long. Just this past Sunday a lady with 4 kids, fleeing an abusive husband from another country came to our church in need. I know she and her kids will find comfort when they sit or lay on this couch for the spirit of my parents, especially my mother will be with them.

Now for a couple of pictures from Thanksgiving: