One of my dearest memories as a child is rolled up in the hammock, swinging, in my grandparent’s backyard. You have to understand that this was no ordinary hammock; at least to me. It swung from under my grandmother’s grape arbor, attached to a tree and the back garage which opened onto the alley behind.

I don’t know how old it was but it never changed in all the years. The material was a stretchy soft weave which may have once been green and it had an odd smell somewhere between dust and hay. When the huge purple grapes were ripe, I’d pick a handful and escape into the hammock. While I was swinging, there wasn’t a care in the world unless, of course, a sibling or cousin wanted to kick me out and take a turn.

Life becomes more complicated as an adult. There are lots of “cares in the world” and few hammocks to escape them. Finances are tight, people become ill, friendships are lost, marriages are in trouble, and a grape arbor is exchanged for a pressure cooker. There is no path back to childhood.

But the Bible says; “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22). I’m so glad that is the absolute truth. And I wouldn’t trade knowing it for all the hammocks in the world.