RSS

Tell Me The Story

19 Dec

When I am out driving on the country roads I am always looking for interesting old buildings to photograph.  Yesterday on my way home from work I drove past this old building.

It is a building that I drive by nearly every day.  It sits on an abandoned homestead site.  I usually see it from the end as I drive by instead of this view from the south. 

Today I parked my car along the roadside and got out and walked in to get a closer look at the buildings.  It was already starting to get dark so the picture is darker than I would have liked.  I will have to go back to get some sunny day photos.

Whenever I see abandoned buildings broken and empty I can’t help but wonder what the stories are from the people who lived there.  Was it a family with children?  How did they spend their days?  What games did they play in the surrounding hills?

Tell me the story was something I used to hear from my oldest daughter.  The story she is talking about was the day she was born.  She loved to have her Daddy tell her about the day she was born.  She has two older brothers and she delighted in hearing how special it was to have a little girl at our home.

Her eyes would never leave my husband’s face as he told her the story about how he went with nurses for her first bath and how I was asking everyone where my little girl was.  Her eyes would twinkle as he told her how he held her all day long the day she was born and how she was his little princess.

I try to imagine what the stories were that were told in the empty homes.  Were they stories of hardship or delight?  Stories of pain or pleasure?  I’d like to know.  I think about the people who live in our old home and wonder if they think about who lived there before them.  I wonder who will live in our home when we no longer live here.  Will it be our children living in our home or someone unrelated?

When I look at this building I imagine a family huddled around a fireplace or wood stove trying to keep warm on a cold winter’s night.  I imagine the Dad of the family telling his children the story of how they came to live in cold Minnesota and what his dreams are for their future. 

I imagine the children exploring the hills around the home and games of hide and seek.  I imagine a Mom heating water to prepare a meal, to wash the family’s clothes or for a bath in a washtub.  Most of all I imagine a family blessed to have each other to share their days in the comfort of their home built with love.

As we approach Christmas this week I love to hear the story of Jesus’ birth and His plans for our future.  It is a story that never grows old with its telling.  Take some time in the week to come to share His story.  I love how His story is told in Matthew 1:18 – 2:12. 

Each year one of the oldest men from our church sits in a rocking chair in front of church with all the little children gathered around him on the floor.  He reads by candlelight the best Christmas story ever told with all the little faces gazing upon him.  A precious sight of delight!

 
10 Comments

Posted by on December 19, 2010 in Family, Holidays, Inspiration, Photography

 

Tags: , , , ,

10 responses to “Tell Me The Story

  1. sunshineinlondon

    December 19, 2010 at 5:55 am

    Everything we know is from stories, isn’t it, Jeanne? I love this post and your thoughts and imaginings about that house. I often wonder, especially here in London with incredible history, what the walls have witnessed and what lives have been lived in those buildings.
    Your church sounds wonderful, and what a lovely tradition with the rocking chair. The Christmas story truly is the best story to tell.
    Sunshine xx

     
    • flyinggma

      December 19, 2010 at 8:56 am

      Dennis the elderly gentlemen who read the Christams story for many years died a couple of years ago and my first thought at the time of his funeral was who will read the Christmas story now. Our pastor recruited the next oldest man at our church to do it and the tradition goes on.
      The candle light service on Christmas eve is my favorite each year with the story reading the highlight.

       
  2. writerwoman61

    December 19, 2010 at 7:46 am

    I like abandoned houses too, Jeanne, although I find them sad…I also wonder about the former occupants!

    Wendy

     
    • flyinggma

      December 19, 2010 at 8:58 am

      I find the abandoned houses sad as well thinking that at some point someone stopped loving it enough to keep it up. Then my mind always wanders to who the former occupants were and where are they now.

       
  3. 36x37

    December 20, 2010 at 12:54 pm

    What a lovely post, Jeanne. And how sweet that your husband took the time to sit down with your daughter and share how special her day-of-birth was/is to him. That’s priceless.

    I follow the same train of thought you describe above whenever I’m on trips. The house doesn’t have to be empty for me to wonder what goes on inside those four walls. And when I’m especially bored, I imagine what my fellow drivers are doing as we pass cars–where are they going? why? and what, of course, are they listening to?

    It just reminds us how many people, lives, stories, experiences it takes to make our world what it is.

     
    • flyinggma

      December 20, 2010 at 10:39 pm

      One of the things I love most about blogging is hearing different stories from different people about the places they live. It somehow fills some of those gaps wondering about what is going on in those homes.

       
  4. Todd

    December 20, 2010 at 7:36 pm

    I’m glad I read this today, flyinggma. Years ago, when I lived someplace else, I used to drive past an empty mansion on the hill — a big 2-story farmhouse with absolutely nothing around it. I always wondered who lived there, what happened to them and why no one lived there now.

    Hope you’re having a good Christmas week!

     
    • flyinggma

      December 20, 2010 at 10:46 pm

      Thanks for stopping by Todd. We are in the middle of yet another winter storm. Another 5-10 inches of snow today. Check out the Minnesota Vikings game this evening. I’m sure it made the national news because of the Metrodome roof collapse and the game being played outdoors in the middle of the storm at the University of Minnesota’s field.

      I find it amazing that curiosity is universal. We all want to know about others to some degree. I attended a writing workshop and Lorraine Snelling says that wondering about abandoned buildings and coming up with her own story for the building is how she sometimes gets started on a new book.

       
  5. pearlsandprose

    December 21, 2010 at 7:59 am

    Your photo is beautiful!
    I also wonder about abandoned houses and why they’re empty. There’s usually some kind of dispute involved.
    My sons love hearing about the day they were born too.

     
    • flyinggma

      December 21, 2010 at 8:47 am

      Thanks for stopping by. It was fun taking the time to stop for the picture. I am saving for a camera. Right now all my pictures are taken with a Nikon Cool Pix. How I long for better camera. Soon I hope.

      It’s funny how that story never gets old for our daughter and she is nearly 22.

       

Leave a reply to 36x37 Cancel reply