As we journey through life, we expect major events to effect our lives. They do, but the most valuable changes sometimes come through smaller and what some would call insignificant snippets.
During my journey through the decades, I have been blessed with many valuable snippets of life, As I grow older, I realize the importance of these snippets and how I was given the opportunity to use those minute events to grow physically, mentally, and spiritually.
My friend Kathy finds it a miracle my cousins and I survived our childhood. We were a group of lucky children who spent a lot of time together or as much time as work schedules would allow our parents to get together for summer vacations, weekend overnights, or just a meal.
When I think back to our childhood, I see a diverse group of children. We were male and female, all ages, all sizes, but we had one common bond. We all loved each other. We went to church together, sung together, and of course, pushed the limits together. It is that pushing-the-limits attitude that got us in trouble; however, our parents did not kill us. I guess they felt we were going to end up doing that ourselves.
God uses these times to teach us life lessons. We had Christian parents; Parents who allowed us to make reasonable mistakes; Parents who allowed us to have fun times; Parents who loved us; Parents who were concerned about our souls and eternal life. Parents who reminded us to pray.
The stories in "Georgia Wisdom" are true. The names have not been changed to protect the innocent. There were no innocent members of our group. We were in our adventures together and whoever happened to be there at the time was involved. No one stood back and let the others take the blame. There was safety in numbers.
My cousins and I learned tolerance, cooperation, acceptance, and how to love each other. When Susie and I fell prey to Tommy's creativity with his contraptions, we didn't get angry; we accepted the responsibility for our lapse into insanity as we volunteered to "try-it-out." God expects us to take responsibility for our actions.
When I think about the times five girls slept on a double bed, I can't help but chuckle. We entertained ourselves by doing skits. A friend of mine was spending the weekend with me and my cousins, Carol, Susie, and Nancy came too. We had a slumber party and giggled most of the night. My cousins accepted my friend as if she were a cousin too. In our house when you ate at our table, you became a member of our family. This was the attitude of my dad and mom and Uncle Hollis and Aunt Julia had about the many folks who entered our lives. This is an example of the unconditional acceptance Christ has for us.
Early in my childhood I knew God loved me so much that He sent His only son to save me from my sins. It wasn't until I was between eleven and twelve years old that I walked the isle of a small church in Baldwin, Georgia, where my Aunt Opal was conducting a revival, and openly accepted His love. I have always talked to God and I know He has always listened.
The snippets of those events in our lives could be easily overlooked, but they are too important to remain hidden in our memories. It is the snippets that define who we are. It is in these snippets we learned how to expand our creativity, how to love one another, how to deal with our own children, how to forgive, and how to appreciate God's plans for us. God used our parents' responses to our wild adventures and many mistakes to teach us many of these lessons. One must always be vigilant to God's will. God uses every situation as lessons, but it is up to the individual person to learn from those lessons.
It is me again, Lord, thanking you for the blessings of cousins and the life lessons You gave us in which to grow physically, mentally, and spiritually.
A little Georgia Wisdom: Be open and listen to God. He uses even the smallest details in our lives to teach us how to obey Him. Watch for and learn to be thankful for blessings no matter how small. Remember God's commandment to love one another.
It is me again, Carol Smith (Looney)...and I was one of the Smith gang. This story is endearing to me because it brings back those children who played together, stayed together and loved each other like we were siblings. My father was the oldest male in his family, and at 18 was asked by his parents to keep his eight brothers and sisters together. The little ones ranged in age from 2 years old to 18. When our Grandparents died after this request, my Dad made that promise to them, and kept it. Lots of people wonder how so many cousins have always been so close, the this comment is only a slight part of a promise made long years ago. My thoughts on this; those that grow up with love in the family and stay together will always be close and this will be passed on to their children and grandchildren. I thank GOD for being a part of such a wonderful, close, and loving family. This story made me stop and think....Could we have kept that promise on our own? I really don't know for sure. Linda has done a wonderful job in showing some of the love in this family!
ReplyDeleteThank you Carol for your kind words. You are so right, your dad, my Uncle Hollis, made a promise to dying parents to keep his siblings together and that is exactly what he did. He had the help of Aunt Zadie, Aunt Emma, and Uncle Clarence. The four of them took care of Aunt Fanny, Uncle Clyde, Uncle Buford, Aunt Gladys and my dad, Billy. What a wonderful thing for siblings to do.
ReplyDeleteAunt Zadie Broome created the family reunions that we still continue to day thanks to her surviving children, Bernice, Bessie, and Jack, make sure the reunions are organized each year. Those promises were made in 1926 and 1927. That is a long time to keep a promise.