Give Thanks... day 5

Give thanks -    30 days of  gratitude...
  “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.  You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
Deuteronomy 6: 4 - 7
 

 Day 5 of thanks giving can not pass without acknowledging the two people who met and fell in love in 1948 and married in January, 1949 - my parents.   They were "set up" by people who attended church with my mom and from whom my dad rented an apartment.  Six (6) weeks after their first date, they met for lunch, hopped on a bus to Frankfort, KY,  (from Nashville, TN) and got married on their "lunch hour."  

They enjoyed twenty-two and one-half years of marriage ended by my father's massive heart attack in July, 1971.  He had a bad heart due to valve damage from rheumatic fever in childhood.  She finished raising their three children but was never the same.

My siblings and I were blessed being raised in the Christian home they created for us.  Our lives revolved around church services, helping the poor, downtrodden, disabled.  I believe that my dad's love and concern for those on the fringes helped develop that same compassion in my heart.  Our evenings regularly included in-home Bible studies with whomever would let Daddy bring his Jule Miller filmstrips into their home and teach.   I have been blessed all my days by having many different people tell me what my dad meant to them and how his love, honesty, compassion, and integrity impacted their lives.  

My mama was a fine helpmeet for him and mourned him deep and long.  She was one of those phenomenal church-lady cooks.  She was always willing for us to offer rides to church for those without transportation or to have a few extra around our table for Sunday dinner.  She kept an immaculate house always company ready and could create beautiful centerpieces and other decorative items for our home.  She was an artist and my siblings and I still enjoy the art she left behind.  She and I also delivered many home-cooked meals to those in need due to new babies or a death in their family.  

My parents laid a beautiful foundation of Christian service in my life for which I am so grateful.  I miss them and have wished so many times through the rough times and years that I had them to counsel me.  I look forward to seeing them again.