I sit in the window seat in my living room, and let the afternoon sunshine wash over me. I close my eyes and feel the warmth sink into my skin. I open them, and simply stare outside, taking in the blue sky, the white clouds, the last shivering yellow leaves still clinging to the trees – all of it brought to life by the glorious sunshine. In turn, my soul is filled with life. I could sit here like this forever.
For as long as I can remember, whenever I imagined my dream house, it always included a window seat. I never had one in my home when growing up, but on sunny afternoons I could often be found sitting in front of the sliding glass doors to the porch, soaking in the sun with a book in hand. After I left home and moved from place to place, my choices of dwelling were determined by finances more than anything, so I continued to just find whatever patch of indoor sunshine I could get. The years passed, and as our children arrived and we made lifestyle choices that continued to limit our budget, a house with a built-in window seat seemed more and more like a pie in the sky.
Then, two years ago, we decided to move our growing family out of our two-bedroom condo and into a house. As we searched for one that would accommodate our modest funds, a window seat was not even on my radar. By this time, though I still loved sitting in the sunshine, I had all but forgotten my dream of having a window seat one day. Even as things started falling into place, and God led us to a unique home that fit our tiny budget and still checked most of our other boxes, it was all about the size of the house, the yard, the neighbourhood, and the proximity to our church.
It wasn’t until we had moved in and had started unpacking boxes and arranging furniture that it happened. We had just moved the piano to a new spot in the living room, and as we stood back to assess the effect, I noticed the windows on either side of it with fresh eyes. These were not typically-shaped windows. They were taller and skinnier than average, and, as a result, the bottom of the window rested only about a foot and a half above the floor. With the piano framing the window on one side, and the corner wall of the house on the other, I suddenly saw it – I could have a window seat! I excitedly told my husband my idea, and he obligingly went and extracted our black ottoman storage bench from the piles of stuff still surrounding us. We slid it into the space between piano and wall, and it fit perfectly, just below the window sill. I finally had my window seat.
I love how God sometimes works like that. He gives us good gifts, often when it’s least expected. And He cares not just about our needs, but our wants, too. I certainly didn’t need a window seat, and I still don’t. I had become quite content without one. Yet, for whatever reason, He chose to surprise me with it. Maybe He saw that I was satisfied, not ungratefully yearning for something I didn’t have. Maybe He knew how often I would sit here and spend precious time with Him. Maybe He simply knew that it would delight my heart, over and over again.
Whatever the reason, I am grateful. I’ll never tire of sitting in my window seat, basking in the sunshine, enjoying an unexpected blessing from my loving Lord.
Inspired to Encourage 