Luba, Ternopil site leader, Ukraine
A bed is a rarely appreciated item, used for resting, sleeping, and often for illness or vulnerability. It is a private space, symbolizing boundaries between the public and private. But it’s a gift that not everyone has.
Sleep is when children’s bodies recharge and retain everything they learned that day. Good mornings start overnight in a safe, private, comfortable, and warm bed.
Having the privilege to serve sponsored children and visiting their homes, we have often seen the children compelled to share a bed with one or more siblings, grandparent or parent, sleep on the floor or in an unsafe bed. But they’ve never known anything different and are thankful just for the family and home they have. But without their own place to sleep, children are exhausted, and it affects their health.
Ever present but often unnoticed, the beds carry profound symbolic significance in Biblical narratives. They sometimes become places of spiritual revelation and communication with God. The prophet Samuel receives his first divine revelation while lying in bed (1 Sam 3).
While I am making my bed in the morning and turning it down at night, I am reminded of what a great blessing my bed really is in my life. When we stop viewing what we have as little, insignificant, or not enough, we get to enjoy great blessings in our lives and provision for our needs. I am thankful for my bed.
“When I think of you on my bed and meditate on you in the watches of the night.”
Psalm 63:6
To find out more about the Chalice Lent Companion, visit: chalice.ca/lent-companion