“Come leave your house on Grumble Street 
And live on Sunshine Square”

First hearing it of course, the child I was took these words literally and I wondered where I would find “Grumble Street” in our small town. Then again, maybe it was in the neighbouring town on “the other side of the tracks!” Likewise, where was this “Sunshine Square?” It sounded like the place to be as according to this ditty,

“For that’s the place where Jesus lives 
And all are happy there!”

With more thought, I knew I didn’t live on “Grumble Street” nor did I live on “Sunshine Square;” I lived with my family at “47 King Street” and was not about to move! The chorus then turned into a spelling exercise as we belted out, at the top of our lungs:

“And He calls, and He calls all the G-I-R-L-S 
And He wants all the B-O-Y-S too 
To T-R-U-S-T in Him 
And try His blessed will to do!”

It’s funny how we do that, you know, associate Jesus with particular times or places: He’s here but He’s not there; there but not here; we speak of our meetings being visited by the Holy Spirit; we often pray as though summoning or inviting God to join us from somewhere far away; then there are those who categorize life saying this or that is spiritual but those other things are not; they are secular.

As I got older and gained an understanding of metaphor and such, I realized of course that both “Grumble Street” and “Sunshine Square” are states of mind (heart) and have nothing to do with geography. I also knew that I had been a frequent dweller in both places.

Of great interest to me however, is realizing that if indeed these were geographic locations, I believe Jesus would more often be found on “Grumble Street” than on “Sunshine Square” (Sometimes spelled – “Sonshine Square)! Then again, even as states of mind - same thing!

Grumble Street was and still is a favourite haunt of His!

Think about it!