It is very spring like now but the mornings are still quite cool and the morning air in the house feels cold. The wood stove is the sole source of heat in our little house where it nestles embraced by trees and quietness. As the wood caught flame and heat began to radiate out from the little stove I appreciated being able to warm myself by the fire. As the heat spread through the room and I began to be warmed again after leaving the comfort of a fluffy duvet and my husbands’ warm body next to mine, there was such a sense of joy at this simple and elemental wonder of roaring fire.
For years those words “warming himself by the fire” have been repeated, referring to a feisty tempered man who is remembered for trying to deny his friendship, in the toughest moment, with Jesus. Sitting by the fire to be warmed held a negative connotation. Fireside time is often very much a part of friendship.
A warm fire is a kind of hospitality in its own way - an invitation to come closer, to linger, to find nurture and healing there. Sometimes the fire draws us to sit together and animated conversation results or perhaps it is to enjoy the gentle sounds of its own music while we read a book. Often in the winter the fire has been the only sound and only light as I waited for the new day to be born and bring its light to the sky and into the house.
The fire is like the hospitality - it is for stranger and friend to find warmth, nurture and comfort. The heat that is radiated goes more than skin deep. It works towards the core of our being. Perhaps the warm fire and the invitation to dine open up the bigger story of our lives and work at revealing the threads that both stranger and friends weave into our story. Like the dining room table it invites us simply to be, to breathe, to be present and take in what the moment has offered us.
As I write it is late afternoon and I sit working by the fire letting it warm me on the cool cloudy spring day. Sigh…it is so soothing to be warmed this way and I am so enjoying simply sitting by the fire. There are surely deeper meanings to this thought of being warmed by the fire but for now I shall simply enjoy it for what it gives. That is joy for this moment.