Something's Bugging Me

Couch Hunting

Theology in the Trenches

by Kathleen Kjolhaug

With little debate, my husband and I finally agreed on something.  We agreed that we needed a new couch.  After a long winter, the brown beast got on our nerves.  Since the initial purchase, it’s been an uncomfortable piece of furniture to actually relax in.  Each time we sit upon it, it pushes back.  We’d snapped it up on a Going-Out-of-Business Sale years ago.  At the time, we were certain that unless we bought it on the spot, someone would else would come along and get the deal.  As it turned out, we need not have worried because if I remember correctly, it took the proprietors a little over two years to go out of business. 

We set out to visit a few places to begin our search, holding out hope for more comfort.  However, the first thing we noted was that these newer versions weren’t much more comfortable than what we’d been sitting upon at home. In fact, many of them were flat out much worse.  The more we searched, the more we realized that perhaps after all these years, our brown beast wasn’t as bad as we thought. 

“Why on earth would people make them so uncomfortable, and who wants to sit on a hard couch?”  I verbalized my frustration as I made my way through many a store.

Once in a while comfort was found, but then the color was wrong, or the style wasn’t quite right.  Do we want one that bends around as a sectional instead of two separate pieces?  Do we want a couple of big old comfortable chairs instead of a couch?  Like Goldilocks checking out the best fit, it seemed as if one was too small, too big, or too hard, but nothing was “just right.” 

Finally, I decided to go for a second opinion about our brown beast and invited a friend over who has a fun flare for decorating.  With a new set of eyes, and an extra pair of hands, I followed her lead.  Like an artist with a pallet, it took several dabbles here and there before each piece within the room found a new home.  Like a fresh coat of paint, the room was transformed before our eyes, and soon even the brown beast brought comfort I never thought possible.

Wisdom whispers that it might be wise to keep the brown beast just in case we’re in need of something to blame for our lack of comfort when the Minnesota winter comes round once again.

Spring has sprung.  I am grateful that the change of seasons reflects a beauty all its own, and for friends willing to help lighten loads.  May we be warmed with the hope of the resurrection power right before our eyes, and may we see beauty once again in that which we have lost hope.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:  The old has gone, the new is here” (2 Corinthians 5:17).  Amen.