If Walls Could Talk

One of my favorite poems is entitled "Laughter in the Walls" by Bob Benson. The poem is a beautiful kaleidoscope of memories of the Benson children growing up in their crowded but happy home. The author knows life is about to change as his sons and daughter are ready to leave the nest - one by one. Benson says that the once noisy, busy house will be getting larger - back to the size it was when he designed it years ago. He writes:

But it won't be empty.

Every corner, every room,

every nick in the coffee table

will be crowded

with memories. . .

And Peg and I will
sit quietly by the fire
and listen to the laughter in these walls.

I thought of those lines today. Our house is so very quiet after having the family here . . . and the rooms seem so much bigger and emptier than when the grands and their parents were here. And then I thought: If walls could talk . . . If walls could talk, I could replay their laughter, their teasing with Poppa, their voices calling me "Nanner" (instead of Nana), the knock-knock jokes, the funny things they said (that should be written down), and the more serious conversations we had.

But walls can't talk. However, memories can speak to us. And John David and I have already been listening to the echos of the good times we've had with our family recently! I'm so thankful that God created us with the ability to remember . . . and picture all the happy times we've had with our children and grandchildren . . . and hear their voices . . . and almost reach out and touch them at times - even though they are miles away. I can even still smell the two sweaty, dirty little boys who came into our house after a day of playing in the woods or riding four-wheelers 20+ years ago!

On the flip side of that idea came the thought: If walls really could talk, I would hope they also could erase some things . . . like unkind words . . . hurtful replies . . . heated "discussions" . . . or any other unpleasant or unChrist-like words. But walls can't talk; neither can they erase words that have been spoken. Words, once verbalized, can never be taken back, as we all know so well. But . . . but . . . God has a big eraser and is ready and willing to blot out any wrongly-spoken words that we confess to Him. Then He never remembers them again! Now that's better than walls that can talk!

No, walls can't talk, but I like that analogy. Just thinking about all the beautiful memories stored within these walls over the past 34 years is heartwarming. One of the many blessings of having grandchildren is that they keep the good times and laughter bouncing off these walls. If our walls could talk tonight, every room would be ringing with chuckles, giggles, belly laughs, and fun times. And what's more, the two of us just added a few more ripples of laughter as I retold one of the jokes our younger grandson told last night! The ancient wise man was so right; a happy heart - and laughter - really are good medicines for the soul! And good memories are, too!

"Smile a while . . . and give your face a rest . . . "