Sunday, February 17, 2013

Settle


               Okay, so anyone who knows my wife and I know that the word settle does not mean much to us.  We are constantly pursuing something, we are always moving, and although we make mistakes, (Okay I make mistakes) we are always trying to better ourselves.  If I were to settle with the cards I was dealt I would most likely be behind bars or dead, it’s a fact!

               The word settle has many meanings; in fact, Merriam-Webster lists 8 definitions for the transitive verb settle, and 6 for the intransitive verb!  Most people do not know the word settle is also a noun.  Today is the first photo I have posted that I did not take myself.  It is a picture of an 18th century settle. Some of you know that one of my many hobbies is refurbishing antique furniture.  I don’t know a lot about the settle but I do know they were typically handed down in families.  Today they are often found in entry ways, which was actually the original purpose for them. 

               In the 18th century almost all career paths lead to physical labor.  There is almost no better feeling than coming home after working a 16 or 18 hour shift of physical labor, being completely physically spent, and sitting down to take your boots off.  I think that is where the original significance of these pieces came from.  The man of the house would sit down there to take his boots off after an exhausting day of work. If you know the feeling I’m talking about, it’s a moment of clarity.  It’s the first moment of the day that you can just be still.  You sit, and you feel, and you rest, and you live the moment.

               That moment is something I need to focus on.  Although I don’t miss working like that anymore, there is a sick longing for that feeling.  Psalm 46 verse 10 has probably been one of the most impactful scriptures to me in my walk of faith.  It simply states to, “Be still and know that I am God.” 

               Another definition of the word settle, one we are all more familiar with is to “come to rest.”  There is so much significance to this.  From Biblical significance of the Sabbath, to God’s creation of the world, to sitting down as a father and telling my wife and kids that I love them.  I think that it’s time finally, in my life, to settle down…

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