Memories

 "If you're going to the Post Office, check to see if my Past Book came in!" I called after Julie and Steve as they drove away. I had been looking for it any day, and wondered if it were lost or something. Waiting  patiently, I couldn't wait until they got home.

Then after a while suddenly at the door in the rain was granddaughter Sarah, carrying a puffy water-proof bag tied with a knot slipped over her arm.

"It's your book!" she exclaimed.  "It was hanging on the mail box in the bag because it was too big to fit inside!"

I had surmised that, the reason I had worried about the mail delivery.  I couldn't wait to remove the cardboard packaging to look inside.  I knew by the thin book it would not be thick like my other Past Books, but I couldn't wait to see the pictures!

There they were, with kids eating at the picnic table on the porch and flashing mug shots at the camera.  It was a few days after Howard's surprise birthday party, and he sat amiably at the kitchen table, smiling at the kids and their antics.  All the Happy Birthday cards were still taped to the door where I had put them.

A few days later, granddaughter Bethany appeared, manipulating Howard's wheel chair and getting him into the car.  "We're going to Troyers!" she exclaimed.  It is a huge, rustic store specializing in great lunches wrapped in butcher paper, not to mention their famous meat market and unusual products not found any where else.

Howard and I sat at an outside table where we ate our lunch.  I even had Bethany take a picture of us. Not a great shot of me, although I smiled cheek to cheek with him. The photo shows he was really not into it, and probably a little uncomfortable. Howard only ate part of his sandwich. 

I still pore over the book, even though he is gone now. I treasure a remarkable portrait on  the first page  of Howard behind the pulpit at our church, his arm lifted high in preaching and an open Bible in his other hand, the leaves fluttering open from where he would take his text, not long before he would take his heavenly flight.

 Where could Howard's black guitar be? I had searched high and low when I came back from extended stays with family after my husband's funeral.  It was just so strange that the instrument had disappeared. I couldn't imagine what happened to it. Until today!

My daughter, Julie, had just found out that my son, Greg, had offered our grandson, Zack, the guitar to take home to Mississippi with him! Well, that is fine with me, because I know Zach enjoys the instrument and uses it to help in his ministry.

When I remember all the video programs we did with Howard playing on different guitars, looking up scriptures and reading them to his audiences, then singing his favorite hymns, I know sometimes it was with the black guitar.

It is hard to give away my dear husband's possessions, but I know he would be happy for loved ones to have them. I have just decided that instead of giving away some of his wardrobe, my daughter and I are going to make a quilt stitched in place with his favorite shirts. I know I will cherish the quilt, always reminding me of the covering, care, and support for our family that was brought up in the "fear and admonition of the Lord!" No doubt our loved one is strumming strings on musical instruments of guitars or harps in Heaven!

 After the services of my dear husband and several gatherings of families, our kids decided that I was to be brought to their various homes in Georgia, Texas, Houston, and Oklahoma for several weeks. Their loving hospitality was a helpful distraction to my sadness, even though my pillow was damp every night.

Getting back to Tennessee recently, I stumbled onto some notebooks Howard had kept that I hadn't noticed before. I pulled them out today and saw his heart in the many scriptures he noted:

"No weapon formed against thee will prosper.." Isaiah 54:17.

"Blessed be the Lord who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation." Psalms 68:"The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it." Proverbs 10:22.

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, honest, just and pure, if there be any virtue, of good report, think on these things." Philippians 4:8.

I had to laugh when I saw he said, "I think things about my six kids! Benjamin, our youngest son, Pastors in Houston, TX. Mark, our oldest son, Pastors in Austin, Texas. Trevor, who travels for the Dept. of Education, teaching Government Law in colleges, universities, and even over seas.

Son Greg is an inspector of refineries far and wide. Julie, or oldest daughter, is a Pastor's wife, artist and writer. Amy, our youngest daughter, is a heart cath nurse in Georgia for over 20 years, and have helped saved many lives."

He finishes by saying that we are at a very difficult time in our lives, due to health problems. True, but our memories will abide forever!

Philippians

 What a difference a day makes! Yesterday was blizzard like, and today is warm as Spring! I even sat outside on the porch balcony to have my lunch!

And what a difference a few months make. From joyful outings eating under outdoor umbrellas as my spouse and I did, to his becoming increasingly unwell, in and out of the hospital. I miss him terribly now that he has obtained his heavenly home.

I do have a special treasure that I can go to any time and see videos we made of him singing, playing the guitar and giving uplifting stories and scriptures read to his many listeners. I counted the treasured videos today which are upward of a hundred. Why did this idea come to me so determinedly back then? God knows our hearts, and He put it in mine to save these treasures for many.

How we worked and scoured Bible stories that were meaningful to all. With Howard's love of interacting with people, telling stories, strumming the guitar and spreading the gospel, and me encouraging and working behind the scenes, we accomplished a treasure trove of love and memories. Thank you, God, for this remembrance!

W

 It'sno joke! It's Narnia outside! I woke up and looked out the window to see a landscape of every tree, twig and branch coated in white, and every car, vehicle, or yard machine covered in a thick blanket of white!

The predicted snow had come softly in the night, since we had gone to bed and decided the weather wasn't going to come through. What a surprise! And so beautiful! Phone calls were alerted that there would be no church service today!

Thankfully we had stocked up on provender yesterday! I even bought a rotisserie chicken which I sampled as soon as I got home! So delicious, and I will probably enjoy it for lunch today!

Earlier, while it was still dark, I thought I recognized a mottled covering on the window, and by the time I got up it was more pronounced than ever. Opening the door, I caught my breath at nature's beauty.

It is definitely a winter wonderland outside with the tangle of every tree's twigs, branches and crooked limbs laden with a blanket of white. I am reminded of a scripture in the Bible referring to lilies, but also reads: "And yet I say to you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." These snow flakes!

 Yay! I keep finding things I thought I had lost for good! I purchased new glasses a month or so ago, but I couldn't find them lately. I was so disappointed and upset, but just using readers to see. Then yesterday as I got up from a nap on the sofa, I straightened the cushion and couldn't believe my eyes. My glasses were under the sofa cushion!

Also, I was getting depressed and aggravated because perfume I had bought which my son was helping me select had disappeared from the face of the earth! Then suddenly it was plain as day on my bureau!??

Glancing as I walked past my tall wrought-iron corner glass shelves, I noticed a small pottery pitcher at the bottom with a phrase engraved almost circling the pitcher. Looking closely, I read, "I was

thirsty, and you offered me drink...." Matthew 25:35. Obviously, the pitcher had not caught my attention lately!

This every day trivia added a bright spot to my days, which no doubt has had me walking around in a fog after re-adjusting to my new way of life without my beloved help meet who has gone on to heaven. Thank you, God, for my precious memories!

thirsty, and you offered me drink..." Matthew 25:35.

 Finally! The blue sky is showing through the puffy, white clouds! After being snowed in all week-end and more, it is so refreshing to feel the breezes and seeing the undergrowth peeking up above the soil. Spring has got to come sometime, but I will hold my breath for now!

As I sit in my late husband, Howard's, office room, I look around and find memories of him that touch my heart. Ironically, just a few months before his health failed, he was determined to write a news letter to friends and family, which encompassed over 50 letters, entitled "AS I See IT".

In it he shared his 82 years lifetime, all the ups and downs, dangers and successes. I'm so thankful to have copies of the letter which are no doubt cherished by the families of our six children, other congregants of the churches he served, and his fellow man,

lifetime friends, and those who loved and appreciated his ministry

of the Gospel.

As I sit in his room, I am surrounded by his racks of clothes so dear to me. The time will come soon that I will have to find homes for them, given in the realization and hopefully appreciation of the giant of a man who wore them!