Various Musings

Jan. 23, 2006

Things I’m thankful that I’ve lived long enough to learn:

God isn’t nearly as concerned about the right ritual as he is about the right heart. What we do for a couple of hours on Sunday morning in a building isn’t the only part of being a Christian. In fact, although coming together as a community of faith is vital according to Hebrews, it is only a small part of our relationship with God.

The unconditional love of husband, my children, grandchildren, family, and friends.

That people really only want to know how much you care.

Not to worry about tomorrow---no one knows what the future will bring. Today is the day the Lord has made—rejoice and be glad in it.

Things I’m thankful I’ve lived long enough to see:

Walls which divide organized religion are beginning to come down. Different races, people of various socioeconomic status, all ages, different communities of faith, etc. are crossing over and joining each other. Churches are learning to reach outside the walls of a building.

Things I was born early enough to experience and treasure:

Outhouses and slop jars (AKA chamber pots)
No electricity therefore the use of kerosene lamps for light
The ice box and the big block of ice
Wood stoves
Singeing a chicken after wringing its neck and plucking the feathers—then cutting it up and frying it for supper (actually watching my grandmother or mother do all of the above)
Bathing in a big galvanized tub by the fireplace
Picking cotton and weighing it at the end of a long, hot day (then jumping in the back of the wagon filled with the freshly picked cotton—I’ll never forget the wonderful smell.)
Playing with my mamma cat and baby kittens in the hay inside the barn
Milking the cows late in the afternoon and then straining the milk and putting it in jars
Waiting for the rolling store to come by
Fishing in our pond with my daddy or my grandmother (and eating the fish for supper)
Feeding the pigs—bottle feeding a baby pig because its mother had too many babies to feed
Homecoming at the little church where I grew up and dinner on the ground—keeping the visiting preacher for a two week gospel meeting