Magazine Living

Magazine Living

Theology in the Trenches

By Kathleen Kjolhaug

 

Trotting along behind mom in the grocery line years back, I recall that it was sort second nature for her to grab the “Family Circle” magazine and place it into her cart without a second thought. It was a treat she allowed herself. Those were the days when bread was twenty-nine cents a loaf, so I suppose the magazine wasn’t much more. As I reached for my choice of something to read at the checkout line recently, I thought it best to check the price before adding it to my purchases. “Ten bucks,” I shrieked. Unabashed, I quickly put it back.

 

As I bemoaned the fact that I would have no magazine over which to drool, I came to the realistic conclusion that magazine living is overrated. After all, try as I might, the new garden gloves hanging poetically from a colorful pot never quite look the same once used. This goes for the flavor of the month lemonade that’s served up, too; it usually spills leaving stains upon the cloth beneath it. Once washed and out of the dryer, the table cover becomes shriveled and wrinkled like a wad of gum stuck to the bottom of a chair…all smooshed together with no form whatsoever.

 

Did I mention that the new happy looking lawn chairs get dirt and sticks blown into them after the first rain? And you know those cute plastic pails with contrasting shovels for kids to play with at the beach? Well, they are a soggy sandy mess when trying to put them into the car once used. The hammock fades, flowers from the greenhouse get blown to shreds after the storm, and that cool apron gifted at Christmas? It, too, holds a stain because there is a big one all over it after rubbing against the grill.

 

Speaking of grilling, it looked like fun at the time. The burgers were mouth watering, but that was several days ago. Tonight when we tried a repeat session, that greasy gunk was a pain to scrape off before using it once again. I noticed that while cleaning it under the sink, it sort of splattered upon the napkins which had yet to be used.

 

“Martha Stewart” living looks good in the magazine, and even better upon the shelves, but when I decide to bring it home and turn my life into magazine living, it never looks quite the same. But I live in Minnesota where I become desperate for color, come spring. And next year by this time, I will either need therapy or a color run to the local shops. So far each year, I’ve chosen color runs. I choose plastic pails, hammocks that fade, and flowers that get beat up. I buy lawn chairs that get dirty, and you got it…I choose magazine living because it feels good making the ambiance around me a bit more cheerful.

 

While knowing that cheerful is good, I do know that joy is better. Cheer is external while joy is within. One fades, while the other lasts forever. So, this is for you, my readers.

 

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Rom. 15:13). “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you…with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now” (Phil. 1:3-5). Amen.