Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: MEMORY LANE (04/23/20)
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TITLE: So One's Life Reflects the Heart | Previous Challenge Entry
By Lisa Gavin
04/29/20 -
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Another time, I go to my father’s hometown. It is a July week and I am over for a visit, along with my sister. We don’t live with Dad, but he is always there, reflecting God’s love and gentleness. We run around Dad’s front yard with our Fourth of July sparklers after the sun has finally set, creating words in colors on the night air. It is hot and sticky, and we love summer. Every afternoon that week Dad takes us to the swimming pool, watching from a bench and smoking his pipe while we splash around and get sunburned. One afternoon a tornado warning sounds and we take refuge in the Carnegie library. It smells like old books and I remember when I was four, taking book after book off the shelf and setting them on a chair to take home. The librarian kindly explains to me how you choose a book from a library shelf.
Sometimes, I remember my visits with my grandmother before my after-school job. I don’t see her as often as I did when I was little. During one visit, I ask about her first job. It is during the Great Depression and she works for a wealthy family as their live-in maid while planning her wedding to my grandfather. At night, weary from a day of housekeeping, she fashions her own wedding gown. It is flowing, made from silk fabric saved for just such an occasion; designed without a pattern because she cannot afford to buy one. She doesn’t need a pattern anyway; she is an excellent seamstress. She looks forward to the day when my grandfather will complete the house he is building for her and they will marry. Her life is a reflection of God’s pride in our value of hard work and contentment.
I remember her daddy, my great grandfather, and how my aunt takes me along on her visits to his house so she can let him beat her in a game of checkers. My aunt reflects God’s eye on the lonely as she takes time on her day off to spend with a man who often feels forgotten.
My own wedding day finally comes, and soon my own children. My dad is Grandpa now. He goes apple picking with my children and writes stories for them. My grandmother is great grandma Ruby. She makes cookies and buys winter coats for her great grandchildren, her fingers crippled with the arthritis that stole her gift with a needle and thread. They reflect God’s rich love for little ones through their gifts.
There are many places that I remember, and many people wait there: My red-headed best friend who always reflects God’s loyal heart, my mom, who reflects strong faith that pleases God when I share my worries with her, and my kindly third-grade teacher who patiently reads to her boys and girls as they sit at her feet, a reflection of God’s desire to teach the innocent heart.
I think of the passing of 40 years, and I can still see Dad shaking his head as he remembers something from his long ago. “Can you believe that was 40 years ago?” he asks. I let those words pass, giving them no thought—my life still ahead of me. But today, I sit while childhood songs play in the background and I reflect on my own “40 years ago.” And I remember, thankful for all the reflections of God’s heart.
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