[I’m going out of town tomorrow afternoon (Sunday) on a little “College Road Trip” and will be back at the end of the week.. I promise to return comments then.. please pray for me! I’m a little nervous :) Thanks!]
A few days ago my Grandfather sent me (as well as others in the family) some pictures of the daffodils that were coming up in his yard.
I wrote back telling him how pretty they were, then went on to say that daffodils were kind of special to me. They spark something inside of me; it’s like when I see daffodils coming up, I know spring is here.
We have been at the same church for over 15 years. The church building is surrounded with daffodils, and when I was a little girl I would get so excited to see the pretty yellow and white flowers popping up all over the yard. I always associated them with Easter. When I would see them being coming through the dirt and mess of the yard, it brought forth anticipation in me for the beautiful holiday. Even now, when I see daffodils, I get a tingle of excitement that spring is here; and that Easter is coming. By now, of course, Easter has passed. But I still get a twinge of excitement when I see the daffodils.
My Grandad wrote back last night. I was waiting for my turn to brush my teeth so I could go to bed when I decided to check my email from my phone while I waited. I didn’t expect any new email, as it had only been about twenty minutes since I’d been online. But there was the response. I opened it and began reading it on my tiny screen.
He told me that there was a history to those particular daffodils, and I was inspired to share it with you.
They came to his home from the farm his parents owned in Maine, but before that they came from a farm his parents owned in Massachusetts. His father (My great-grandfather) had bought the farm around 1924, and the people before him were comparatively well to do. One memory he has was that there was a tiny hole in the middle of the dining room floor, under the dining table, where a wire was connected to a bell in the kitchen which could summon the maid by stepping on a button under the table with your foot.
The family who had previously owned (and presumably built) the home had put in a nice, large flower garden in front of the barn between a large cellar door and the front corner of the barn, all enclosed by an attractive, low, stone wall. He guessed it to be at least twenty by twenty-five feet.
Grandad remembered that his Dad and Mom would often work in it in the evenings to keep it looking spiffy. Though he was young, he remembers gorgeous large hollyhocks growing up against the barn, and a number of perennial plans such as bleeding heart, delphinium, lilies, phlox, daffodils, etc. growing. He also remembered how nice the garden smelled when he would play with his toy cards on top of the stone wall. The driveway circled in and out right in front of it, and many folks that stopped by to buy veggies, applies, pears, cherries, berries and currants from their farm stand would admire and remark on the flower show.
They moved from that farm in Massachusetts to one in Maine when my grandfather was seven years old, though a few of his relatives stayed there. At the farm in Maine they did not have many flowers at first; it was more what one might call “survival gardens” to raise food to sell and for the family. But eventually his father developed a large vegetable garden where he put some peonies, lilies, etc, bordering the driveway and its strip of lawn.
My grandfather’s Uncle Lawrence was not the gardener that my great-grandfather was, though he always had a good vegetable garden, and the flower garden in front of the barn got overrun with grass and weeds and never looked the same again. But one thing about daffodils; they don’t run out like tulips, hyacinths and crocus, but tend to multiply if they are not too smothered.
About 1950, he guesses, Uncle Lawrence decided to dig up and thin out the daffodils, bringing up to Maine a whole bucket or two of extra bulbs! Great-grandfather planted them along the front of the garden in a strip about four feet wide by about seventy-five to a hundred feet long, and the multiplied some more.
When my grandfather returned from the Army in Germany in March of 1955 with his new (Zeiss Ikon 35mm) slide camera, what a sight there was to photograph! --looking toward the house from the far side of the garden, with the resh green spring lawn, and then that huge strip of nodding yellow daffodils! Beautiful.
They multiplied even more, so great-grandfather “subdivided” again, and planted a narrow strip on each side of the driveway all the way to the road (it was a long driveway!). After great-grandmother died in 1973, he even planted some in the farm cemetery.
When my grandfather and his brother Lester had to sell the farm, he made sure to dig up a couple peonies and a box of daffodil bulbs, and he planted the bulbs “temporarily” on the side of the vegetable garden at his home in New Hampshire. At some point later on, he inadvertently planted a couple of rhubarb plants on top them! He was sure their tops had died away when he did that, but undaunted, they bloomed away every spring, long before the rhubarb was barely popping the ground.
After removing brush, vines, and all sorts of things from the front corner of the yard, he put down some wood chips and thought it would be a good place to plant some of the daffodils. He also thought another place to plant some would be the adobe-looking birdbath.
But he now faced a problem – how could he find the bulbs? The tops die away early in the summer, and then huge rhubarb leaves hide everything. So when the rhubarb leaves were done after frost, he dug up a large section where the bulbs had multiplied, and got a lot of them – but not all! He tried typing string around the tops when they were green to identify the locations later on, with results less than spectacular. Every year he transplants a few, and every year there are still a few remaining, blossoming even now under the raspberry bushes!
He concluded, saying, “Well, I guess we can say these are definitely interstate bulbs, having traveled, survived and multiplied in three states! And isn't it a wonderful picture of how we as Christian believers, though we die and our bodies rest in the ground, at Christ's command we shall be resurrected and gloriously flower forth in new bodies!!!”
What a beautiful thing to say! I confess, while I see allegories to the Christian life and similarities of Christ’s love and work in many different things in life, I never made the connection to perennials, and more specifically daffodils. I think that’s partly due to the fact that I don’t garden, and I don’t know much of anything about plants. However, I was inspired by the letter my Granddad wrote. How true! He laid out a story and made the plant seem so simple…and then so easily tied it in with our lives in Christ.
Spring is a beautiful time of year, and daffodils always mark its coming for me. But now I have an even greater reason to be excited and feel a twinge when I see the daffodil peeking through the ground… a reminder of the coming day when I, too, shall suddenly come forth out of the ground in a beautiful new temple to be with my Savior – even greater than the promise of Easter is the promise of the ultimate resurrection day.
Yes. I know. It's awful. The last time I blogged was October 9th. It is now October 25th. I am so sorry! There is SO much to blog about, though, that I'm only going to talk about my birthday today...and then tomorrow (or Monday) I'll do the next big event, and so on, until I catch up. It'll only take a few days. :)
So on October 10th, 1990, a wonderful thing happened. I was born. LOL! JK - I'm not really that arrogant...but I was born October 10, 1990. :) So this October 10th I turned 18. Yep. Wow.
Wonder of wonders, I couldn't seem to sleep in... I woke up early. Unlike me. But of course, it was my birthday, so I was anxious :) Finally Mamma came in, told me to get ready to go. Told me to wear a skirt or else short pants that could be rolled up to my knees. And I'm like, huh?
But I got ready and we left and then she told me we were going to get manicure/pedicures. Which we had never gotten before. I told her she'd probably laugh a lot during the pedicure - she's very ticklish. And so we got there and sat down and I got "worked on" first... Mamma's lady was running a little late. It was fun! I got french on fingers and toes. When they were scraping the dry skin off the feet (gross, I know - I could never have that girl's job) I was giggling a little - cuz it DID tickle! And I knew Mom was in for it...and sure enough she just couldn't stop laughing..it was sooo funny. She kept twisting in her seat and everything. :)
Manicures were next. I felt like it was taking foreverrrr. Mom's took so much longer than mine. In fact, while I was waiting for her, I called my aunt, who had left me a message while I was getting all this work done, and then I checked my email with my phone, went to a blog on my phone, then got in the car and drove down the block to the Christian bookstore, browsed, bought 4 books, came back and she STILL wasn't finished! But it wasn't long after that, at least.
After that, we went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch (yum) and then went to the church so I could do a little work. When I got there, I saw....
The flowers were from my dad, and then the blue card & gift from Melissa & Collin. The other card was from a guy at VH/church. I also got a card from Nancy & Paul that had the Newsboys song "Shine" in it. Very cool! BTW, the gift was a pair of cute earrings.
When I first walked up, Collin jumped out and sang to me. Here's a re-inactment.
I did a little bit of work before going home, where I took a nap. Then we met dad back at church and then went together to go see "City of Ember" -it was cool. I liked it. Then we went home. I had cookie cake..simply the best. :) Half choc. chip cookie, half p.butter cup cookie. Awesome. :)
Here are my gifts.
After eating (did I mention mint fudge ice cream?) I sat down to open them presents. First, I played with Buddy.
From my grandparents on my Mamma's side I got...
I collect long-legged ornaments for my Christmas tree in my room.... that's the most AMAZING camel one! I LOVE IT!!!
From my parents I got...
DVD box set of the show "Due South" - all seasons. I love it. It's an old show from the 90s about a Canadian mountie. Fun. :)
The new True Images Bible..it's awesome! I had the old one, but it kinda fell apart. This one is leather-bound and beautiful. I'm so excited!
A beautiful Opal ring (my birthstone) - it's so beautiful.
It's sort of irridescent.
I love all of my gifts so much. :) I better run though - got lots to do for Church tomorrow! Looking foward to hearing from ya'll...tata!
Today, August 3rd, marks my parents' 23rd anniversary! It's very exciting :)
Let me tell you a story that I know only parts of...
The first thing I remember my Mom telling me about first "meeeting" my dad was when she was on her way to an all-day sporting event sponsored by Word of Life. It was a group from her church, and they were short a few players. My dad, at this point, was unsaved, but was excellent at sports...all of them. So they went by, early one Saturday morning, to his house, throwing rocks at the window (I believe), to get him and his brother, Steve, to come with them to make up the rest of the team. My mom didn't know anything about my Dad at this point, but she knew Steve, since they were the same age and in the same grade at school. My Dad was about 18 and my Mom was about 15 or 16. So out come my Dad and uncle Steve. My Mom said her first thought was, "Uh oh" because Steve, the one my Mom knew a little, was a bit of a trouble maker. So naturally, she expected my Dad to be the same. But, she told me, she ended up thinking to herself, "I better watch it --I may end up marrying that guy!"
When my Dad was growing up, his Mom sent him to Sunday School at a Methodist church not far from their house. My Dad's main motivation for being so faithful to it was the attendance record -he wanted to win the prize. So when, one week, he was too sick to go, he just decided to not go back. When he was in 6th grade, he was outside shooting hoops in the grade-school playground when he told God something. He said, "If You show me a way that I can know for sure that I'll get eternal life and go to heaven, I'll do whatever you want me to." At this point he's thinking he may end up having to shave his head and pass out tracts at an airport; but if that meant eternal life, he was willing. That Word of Life event that I mentioned earlier? That was the first time my Dad heard the Gospel. The same group of kids got my Dad to come to several other Word of Life programs that year. Finally, sitting in the Salem Devil's Gym (with the words "DEVIL'S DOMAIN" painted on one wall), listening to the speaker, he felt God speaking to him, telling him that if he didn't surrender now, go foward now, accept Christ now, he might never have another chance. So he did it. Right there, in the "Devil's Domain" my Dad gave his life to Christ.
My Mom grew up in a Christian family and got saved when she was young. Her family was very active in the church, her dad being an organist and both parents talented in instruments and in singing. They went to the only baptist church in the small New Englad town. When my Dad got saved, he started going to the baptist church. He learned so many things! For one, that Jesus did not chose a crown of thorns like he was taught at the Methodist church. In fact, he didn't even find out till much later that Jesus was coming back --boy, was he excited! He also found out that his lab partner, someone who he had sat next to since 6th grade, had been a Christian..and gone to that church. Not only him, but others! And they had never told him about Christ.
I believe that it was around this point that my Dad asked my Mom out...and she was so excited! She ran downstairs and asked her parents..and they said yes! She was so happy! So they had their first date... :)
My Dad was eager to learn all that he could, so often, after he would bring my Mom home, he'd stay up late talking with her Dad about spiritual things, learning all sorts of stuff.
That autumn my Dad went off to the state school for college. My Mom was still in high school. Sometimes on Fridays my Dad would come back early and meet her at her locker after school...she would look foward to it so much. He'd stay all weekend and they'd spend time together. Dad would also talk with my Granddad a lot, still learning as much as he could. Dad began to feel God leading him to become a pastor. My grandparents both went to Bob Jones University and suggested it to my Dad. After one semester at the state school, he transfered to BJU...hours and hours away.
Finally the time came that my Mom went to Bob Jones University... majoring in French, minoring in art. An exciting time :) My Mom was so head-over-heels that she (by her own admission) didn't focus on her school work like she should have. As a matter of fact, she can hardly speak French now. (don't tell her I told you!)
And my Dad proposed. They were at home in New Hampshire. They went to see the play of Little Orphan Annie, then took a walk along the beach, where he proposed. Obviously, my Mom said yes. They ate a late dinner at a small restaurant in the coastal town which is no longer there, sadly.
So my parents started asking my Grandfather for permission to go ahead and get married....but he would tell them to wait a little while... at least until after my Mom finished college. Finally they wore him down...and the date was set: August 3rd, 1985. My Dad had graduated that spring, and my Mom would be graduating in 86.
My Gramma made the wedding gown and bridesmaid dresses. They were beautiful... (I'll post a picture when I can scan it in) The ceremony was at what's now called The Ridge Church...
They honeymooned at Cape Cod...and the seashell sand was atrocious!
Returning for my Mom to go to school, they rented a little apartment in a house in Greenville. 5 Years later, I was born. At that point, my Dad was working for the local rescue mission, had interned at a local church, and many other things. When I was only a year and half old, we moved to VA for my Dad to pastor his first church...and the new adventures began. :)
Over the past 23 years it's clear that God has blessed their marriage. I may only have witnessed 17 of the 23 years, but I've seen enough to know that God is in it. I've seen that when God is put first in a marriage, the marriage blossoms. Marriage is not easy work...I know this. But God brought them together, held them together, and will keep them together, because they are His.
A godly man is such a rarity today
So many start, strong and true, and quickly fall away
A godly man will take his stand-he can't be bought or sold
Hand to the plow, he won't look back-though other hearts turn cold
He keeps the faith and keeps his conscience clear
He lives this life of grace through all his years
The mark of a man of God
Is what he's faithful to
And what he's fleeing from
And what he's fighting for
The heart of a man of God
Is what he daily pursues
His family, friends, the word, the church
And worship of the Lord
The godly man daily takes up the cross of Christ
And faithfully follows Him as a living sacrifice
He’s not ashamed of the gospel, his sufficiency's in Christ
The power of integrity is the passion of his life
Instead of reckless faith, he has proven that his faith works
The ultimate priority, the Master's plan for the church
Saved without a doubt because his first love is the Lord
And the gospel according to Jesus is the truth he would die for
The mark of a man of God
Is what he's faithful to
And what he's fleeing from
And what he's fighting for
The heart of a man of God
Is what he daily pursues
His family, friends, the word, the church
And worship of the Lord
The godly man daily takes up the cross of Christ
And faithfully follows Him as a living sacrifice
He lives his life to teach the Word, in season and in not
For he fears more than any man, the approval of his God
He lovingly, yet firmly leads those placed under his care
The power of his ministry is that he is a man of prayer
The mark of a man of God
Is what he's faithful to
And what he's fleeing from
And what he's fighting for
The heart of a man of God
Is what he daily pursues
His family, friends, the word, the church
And worship of the Lord
The godly man daily takes up the cross of Christ
And faithfully follows Him as a living sacrifice
The godly man takes a young Timothy like me
And teaches me to run the race
To carry on this life of grace
He sets the mark and we keep the pace
With this man of God
(taken September of 2007)
The mark of a man of God
