Loving The Lovable-Our Internet Stories

"In 1 Thessalonians 5:14,
God tells us to comfort the feebleminded".

I am reminded of Jim Basey,
who came to live with us on my grandparents farm in Piketon, Ohio.
I was six years old.
Jim was forty, acted ten.
Jim was retarded.
He wasn't sent to the 'crazy farm' because ole Jim was used as a 'workhorse' in our neighbor's field.
Grandma became furious, rescued and brought Jim home to live with us.
There were five of us children.
Because Jim's mental span never developed beyond a ten year old,
he was contented to be just 'one of the gang'.
We loved to play church.
Jim always insisted he be the 'preacher',
so when he preached from his 'upside-down Bible',
(the dictionary),
we yelled our 'amens' while aiming our popcorn at his loud 'hallelujahs'.
When it was our turn to preach,
and Jim to aim the popcorn,
he would run to 'Mom', as he called grandma,
protesting that it wasn't fair!
He wanted to be the preacher!
Somehow, we couldn't make Jim understand
that it was just as much fun
being on the 'giving it' end,
as well as the 'receiving it' end!
We loved Jim.
He became part of our family,
and we gave Jim what he gave us...love, tenderness, happiness, and respect.
I can't recall what ever happened
to Jim after I left the farm.
Hearsay says, that in 1948,
'death' became impatient,
and claimed Jim for a 'rose' in God's bouquet.
Altho, retardation is a permanent handicap,
nevertheless, this handicap CAN be responded to and nourished with love...
~SHIRLEY KOTSANOS~OHIO~
"Poor But Richer Than Most"
This family of seven lived in the country in the early 70's.
There were five kids in all.
Three girls and two boys.
They had a life of hardship,
never enough time to play
for hard work was mostly all that they knew.
They worked from sun up to sun down,
and sometimes all night till dawn. There was cream to be made into butter,
so they took turns shaking it up in a jar.
There were cows to be milked,
animals to feed,
and so forth,
and eggs to gather each evening.
The children would wait for the chickens to cackle
when they laid their eggs.It was really a cool life
but they would not realize it
until they became much older.
Now how they long for those days to come again.
Though they had so little in the way of eating,
there was always something.
When they did play outside,
they would have to sneak away
and swim in the finest coldest creeks around.
The vines would hang low in the deepest of creek beds,
and they would swing and swim
and gather nuts, and berries, and muskedimes!
What a rich life they found in the woods.
Never once did they get snake bitten or hurt.
God protected them from things
that were totally unbelievable to most.
Christmas time was the most
wonderful time for the children.
They would each get
a bag with an orange in it, and an apple,
and candy, and firecrackers;
to them it was the most wonderful and
delicious things that one could receive.
I still remember the kind of fireworks we got:
sparklers, and wildcat firecrackers,
and black cat firecrackers,
and bottle rockets too.
What a beautiful time we had.
Birthdays were always so special-
we had a wiener roast when we turned 16 and lots of cake.
I remember when the simple things were the most wonderful things!
How I miss them good ole days.....
We were so rich with the more wonderful
and cherishable things
than we are now days..
but could not see it then.
How I cherish all the memories.
~ Becky Laprarie~Louisiana~
"My story"
God tells us to love one another
and this relates to a story that happened
to me and my sons a few years ago.
There was a man who was sitting on a bench at a vacant ice cream stand just across the street from our house and he looked like he might need some kind of help.
My oldest soon Craig (who is in a wheel chair) and his other brother went over and asked him if there was anything they could do for him.
He didn't have the best of clothes and his shoes were rather worn.
He told them he was trying to hitchhike
to some told where he had family
and they wanted to know if he was hungry and needed something to drink.
He said he'd already ask our neighbor and he told him he'd had to borrow money from one of his daughter's for a gallon of milk and couldn't give him anything.
We knew our neighbor was not telling the truth.
To make a long story short
the boys came back and told me what was going on and
I made a couple of meatloaf sandwiches,
some chips and a couple of cans of cola.
I even went into my purse and I had a couple of dollars
and I told them to give it to him.
He was very grateful and told my sons
he was going to sit for a while and eat one sandwich and one pop
and then go on his way and rest again
until he could get to the place he was.
The boys and I felt good that we could help him,
it wasn't much, but it helped him out.
I always try to help those who need it
when I can and my boys are the same way.
~MERIDETH DONEY~ OHIO~
"Never Alone"
Why do I feel discouraged?
And why do I feel alone?
When all of my life,
I have been Yours,
And in You I am never alone!!
At church we sing a song on the worship team that has these words:
"You will always be a child in My eyes. And when you need someone, my arms are open wide. No matter what you're going through, I hope you realize, that you will always be a child in My eyes."
Lately I have been going through a time of illness where many nights I lie awake and can't sleep....and those nights seem to be when the old insecurities and fear creep in and haunt my thoughts.
Even many days there is a loneliness and a desire to feel some arms holding me or to be hugged or cuddled.
Yet there is no one "available" right then. My life may be "on hold" for now,
but everyone else is still as busy as ever with jobs and families.
Add to that the fear of being rejected and Satan knows that he has an easy area of attack because I can't get brave enough to call anyone.
But what he hasn't accepted is that my Father God also knows exactly what His child needs.
And He sends those hugs right when they are most needed.
Maybe not always in a way that I can feel physically but in a word of encouragement via e-mail, snail-mail, or phone calls.
Yesterday was one of those days.
There was no one who could come physically to hold me but God sent it through His other children in the words they spoke.
When I went to bed and was in such pain,
I had grabbed a pillow to squeeze (seems to help sometimes to hold on to something when you hurt somewhere in your body! LOL)
and I could imagine in my mind our Father telling His other children, "Your sister needs a hug so go hold her a little while"!!
I fell asleep being held by our Father!!
About 3:00 in the morning, I woke up with the little verse at the top of this letter running through my mind so I got up and wrote it down.
Then, as I lay in bed thinking,
God started bringing to mind some of the children in the Bible who went through trials and there were times that they had no human close enough to offer love.
There were always people who loved them, but who couldn't be there.
So these children of God did as I am learning to do...trust in God and let Him hold them close!
I thought of David. He had Jonathan who dearly loved him...closer than a brother.
But there came a time when David had to flee for his life and even though Jonathan still loved David, they couldn't be with each other to offer support.
And to complicate matters, it was Jonathan's own Dad who was trying to kill David!!
Then I thought of Daniel. I bet he felt very frightened and alone while he was in that den of hungry lions!!
He trusted God because his life was in God's hands (same as I do) but still I can't help but think he might have longed for some human comfort too during that long night.
The Bible says that "the King passed the night fasting and his sleep went from him" and early in the morning he hurried to the lions den calling out to Daniel.
When he heard Daniel's voice saying that God had sent an angel to shut the lions mouths, the King was exceedingly glad.
He had Daniel taken up from the lions den and had the men who caused all that trouble for Daniel thrown in instead.
Now I could just imagine that King slapping Daniel on the back and maybe giving him a big, brotherly hug as Daniel was hauled up from that den.
What about the greatest of them all....Jesus?
He had plenty of people who loved Him and followed after Him everywhere He went on this earth as well as having the love of our Father. But there came a time when all the people who loved Him either rejected Him or were unable to do anything to help other than stand helplessly by and cry and pray as they saw Him being hurt so terribly.
I could imagine His mother as she saw her child being so horribly injured, but she was unable to go to Him and hold Him or help Him.
And while some of His friends wanted to remain close, not only could they not help or show their love to Him but they became so afraid of what might happen to them that they even denied knowing Him!!
Others could only stand off in the distance and watch what was happening.....not exactly denying Him but not able to help in any way either or even to show or tell Jesus of the love they had for Him.
Then after He was hanging on the cross, even God had to turn His back and the Bible says that Jesus cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me"? For that time, Jesus felt all alone.
But I could imagine the scene that may have unfolded as Jesus was back in the loving arms of our Father!!
The time of being alone was over!! And He was back with His Father!!
So, now I can think of all these and others whenever I feel lonely and scared, and I can remember that we are never alone even though it may appear that way for a while. Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning!! There will always be people who love me and care, but who may not be able to physically be with me. But God is always there with a lap to crawl in or a hand to hold. And then, when the time is right, He will send the people to offer comfort and love. He'll whisper to someone and say, "Your sister needs to feel some love, so go hold her a while", and our Father will be pleased.
Don't you think He delights in seeing His children show love and support to each other instead of bickering and fussing??
I love it when He whispers to me and shows me a brother or sister who need to feel His love!!
Thank You Father for caring so much... 9/25/98 when she had cancer the second time and was awakened one night.
~DIANNE BAILEY~ALABAMA~
"God Moves in Mysterious Ways"
One Sunday evening at our Church a very special friend approached to tell me that her grandson was in the hospital. He was and had been for several days having a reaction to something and the Dr.s could not deterring what so they could effectively treat it. She wanted me to pray for her grandson because the reaction was life threatening and She was worried. She explained that her grandson would seem just fine all day and then at night he would begin to have trouble breathing and show signs of a major reaction to something. Without knowing exactly what to treat the Dr.'s were just guessing and she was worried for her grandson. As She explained I began to have this reoccurring vision of a mop, a yellow handled mop standing in the corner between the frig and the wall. This vision continued to come as I prayed with my friend. Finally I just stopped and ask her If she understood my vision and she assured me she had no idea what it meant. So I finished praying with her and left there confused still puzzled about the yellow mop. Later that night I got a phone call from My friend and she informed me that she had found the yellow handled mop just where I said it would be and the mold found on the mop was determined as the cause of the baby's reaction. I was amazed but first I thanked God, for His grace. He does move in ways that do and should seem Godly. The fact that He uses us is just our good fortune. He doesnâ€™t need us, we need Him. Be blessed and be His
~Brother Charles Avery~Granbury Tx.~
"No Title"
Wasnt so very long ago when i was very down and depressed i didnt feel as life was worth living anymore.
that day i sent out email to a few friends telling them that life was just not worth living anymore.
as usual i went to work that night with the intent of taking my life as i work in a hospitala very dear friend who received my email got a hold of my parents who called my house had my son call me at work to call them.
i called my mom who talked with me for an hour or so then gave me the # of the friend who let them know
i called the friend also that night
i spoke to a councilor at crisis intervention.
when i got home that night i spoke with my friend
and hit my knees
prayed for God to forgive me
and to come back into my life and to show me how to forgive my self
for things i have been feeling weighed down with.
to make it short
i thank God for my wonder friend and for being here today.
~Julie~Michigan~

"No Title"
When I was growing up in a small town off Tallahassee Fla.
We lived with my grandma & great-grandma.
Granny we called her.
My Granny got so she was forgetful.
She would forget where she lived but one thing she never forgot,
that was the Word of God.
She would sit on the porch sing, pray & praise the Lord most of the day.
In turn, that part of her life was pasted on to my Grandma.
In time my Grandma developed cancer.
We would beg her to go to the Doctor but she would say,"God says no Doctor,
that God would take care of it."
Years pasted, people from all over prayed for her.
She became one the best prayer warriors of her church & that I've ever seen.
One day she ask the Lord to heal her,
but not for herself, but for all the people that was praying for her.
One day early in the morning she calls
my Mother in to tell her the Lord had healed her.
She got right out of her sick bed went to church to testify of the Glory of God & her healing.
There were many who's faith was restored.
My Grandma felt her work was done.
A few days later she went into a peaceful sleep with a smile on her face to be with the Lord.
~Joyce Myers~ Ohio~

"Two blondehaired children on bended
knees praying for their Dad each night"
They could hear the fighting as they prayed and they prayed even harder.
Time went by and their parents parted ways as Mom could not take the drinking and fighting anymore.
The two little ones were older now, but the praying had never stopped.
They just knew God would hear them and soon their Dad would be saved.
When the little girl was about ten she bought her Dad a bible,
certain in her heart this would lead him to the Lord.
He threw it on the ground.
The son kept praying and standing on God's word for his Dad's salvation.
Time marched on and both parents remarried.
The children, now grown, never gave up their prayers.
Sometimes they wondered if God was listening.
The spouses of their mom and dad passed away and one day they received a call.
Mom and Dad were getting remarried.
Hard to believe and harder to understand.
Then another call came one early morning with a special request from Mom.
Would you please come to church Sunday?
Your Dad is going to be baptized and he really wants you to be there.
Would they be there?
When God answers your prayers you would go anywhere to see them fulfilled.
God answers prayers and He is always right on time.~BARBARA~TEXAS~

"God Still Performs Miracles"
God takes care of his children and I know this to be so true.
One Easter I had finished grilling a ham and closed the vents on the grill.
I told the children to stay away from it because it was still hot.
I went into the house and sat down on the couch.
Something almost picked me up and propelled me out the door.
I did not see anything so I screamed the name of my oldest (about 10years old) boy.
He came around the corner of the house and he head and hair was black with ashes.
I washed him off to see how bad he was burned.
He had decided to roast an easter egg and the grill blew up in his face.
By the time I got to the ER he had hugh blisters hanging on the side of his face and ear.
The doctors and plastic surgeon said e would need extensive surgery to repair his face.
I prayed God would spare his child from any scars and would restore him to before his accident.
He just got married and He has no scares on his face.
You cannot tell he ever got burned.
This is only one accident of many he has had.
Completely normal in his physicial apperance because God takes care of his children.
Oh the stories I could tell of My Lord and Master taking care of me and my family.~Gayle Davis~Alabama~
No Title
"The Lord Guides One
To Unite Two Souls"
After being retired from the Air Force,
I came home and ended up moving in with my mom, Myra,
and my oldest sister, Gloria, who were living together.
Well my mom and I would every now and then go out
to a local dance hall or to our usual choice which was the American Legion Hall.
Well one night we were debating on which place to go and decided on the American Legion Hall.
We do not know why we chose it,
there was a band playing at one of the other places we usually went to
that we both enjoyed listening to.
But something just urged my mom to suggest that maybe we should go to the Legion.
I believe that urge was a gentle nudge from the Lord our God.
For I believe he had his reasons and we would soon find out.
Well when we got there,
my mom noticed a gentleman that she knew at the bar.
She asked me do you want to meet my old supervisor, George,
who was 68 years old, from the hospital where she worked.
I was always happy to meet new people,
so we walked over to say "Hi".
He seemed so happy to see my mom again
and was pleased to meet me.
Well we kind of hit it off and became good friends.
We would go to various events in the area together
and would go bowling or dancing.
But he had one big black shadow that seemed to follow him, called alcoholism.
He was a heavy drinker.
So I worked with getting him into situations where drinking would not be appropriate.
Day by day we worked to freeing him of his burden.
He realized I did not like him drinking and he did not want to lose my friendship.
Even though I would have never stopped being friends with him.
So when he reached his 70th birthday he had been alcohol free for 6 months.
So I feel that a year and a half ago
the Lord our God led my mother and myself
to a soul in need.
When he turned 72 he passed away in his sleep to join the Lord in his kingdom.~Susan Bragg~ Maine~ USA~
¸
I had been out of the Air Force for roughly a year and a half.
I had just come home from a visit with a friend of mine down in Florida
that I met when I the was in the Air force.
When I got back home, where I was living with my mom,
Myra, she asked me if I had ever been to the Foxes Den,
which was a local dance hall.
When I said I had never been there,
she asked if I would like to go that evening,
of which I said sure.
She then informed me there was a guy there who wanted to meet me.
Now I was a bit nervous about meeting him.
She informed me when we got there and found a table to sit at,
that the way I would know it was him is he would come over to us, kiss her on the cheek,
and say "Hi Mom".
Which I thought to be a bit on the forward side
But sure enough in came this nice looking tall guy, who started heading our way and I thought with the way things usually go for me he would walk right by to another table.
But thankfully I was wrong, he stopped at our table kissed my mom on the cheek and said "Hi Mom", just as my mom predicted.
Then he sat down beside me, introduced himself saying, "Hi my name is Mike", and we ended up getting to know each other.
We talked for hours it seemed.
Then we started dating each other and about 3 months after seeing each other he did something very special.
Mike took me to the same place where we met and he asked the band that was playing there that night to play "Ann Murey's Could I Have This Dance".
As we were waltzing to this wonderful song he proposed to me asking me to him in wedlock.
Of which I said yes and we have been blessed with a true love and marriage for 15 years as of this November.
I feel that the Lord God brought my mom and my loving husband together the night they first met and told her he was the one for me.
I pray that my mom knew how much I appreciate her introducing me to him.
I pray that the Lord God lets her know when I pray to him and thank him for helping my mom meet Mike and blessing me with a loving husband.
You see my mom went on to be with God in his heavenly home when she past away from brain cancer.
But I feel she still looks in on me every now and then, when she feels I need to have the closeness we shared when she was alive.
I thank you my Lord God and may you continue to bless people with the same special meetings and love that I have experienced in my life.
~Susan Bragg~Maine~USA~
"The Day We Met"
Clay and I met, on Dec. 5, 1963.
I had never seen him before in my life!
He came to our home with a friend,
who had given him "a lift",
as he was hitch-hiking from New York State
to "points-south".
When our friend got to our home,
and I saw Clay for the very first time,
it was love at first sight!
I didn't even believe in "love at first sight"!
That was a first for me!
Eleven days later,
on December 16, 1963,
We eloped to Hartwell, Georgia,
along with my sister, Linda and her husband and baby son.
Needless to say,
had it not been The Lord's Will,
we would not be celebrating our 40th anniversery
on December 16, 2003!~Lamar VanSteenburg~Pendleton~SC~

No Title
My mother was the light of my life as I grew up.
My father had died when I was 6 and my mother never remarried.
She and my grandmother raised me together
with the help of my mothers two sisters.
When my dad died, my mother sold our house
and moved us to the south end of Columbus.
Far south... out in the middle of a field!!!
I grew up in an area called the Hartman Farm.
Although our two acres hadn't been part of the farm for many years,
the property was full of apple, cherry, pear, and peach trees.
It was an idyllic life for a child to grow up.
My mother worked a swing shift to make ends meet
so much of the time it was my grandmother and me.
She was the typical german grandmother though
cooked like a dream but no nonsense in her approach to life.
She didn't have rough edges though.
She loved me and I knew it.
Years passed, I learned to cook from my grandmother
but I got my work ethic from my mother.
Those two wonderful women
had equipped me to get through this life
and raise my two children after a divorce from their father.
In later years, my mother fell ill...she had alzheimer's disease.
For the last two years of her life,
she lost the time period that included my birth.
She no longer knew me.
She didn't lose the time period of my sons life though.
So, I thank God she had Tommy, my son,
to guard against her darknesses.
It was very hard for all of us.
I lost my faith, I became discouraged, it was a very difficult time.
However, the light shone bright the day my mother died.
It was one of the most joyous days of my life.
You probably think that's an awful statement but it's not.
You see, my mother was a Christian prior to Alzheimer's Disease.
She had been obedient and was saved.
My mother had met her reward and deserved it.
The only thing more beautiful than a new born baby, or a bride on her wedding day
is the funeral of someone you have no doubt is already in heaven.
That was my mother.
Her death brought the whole family back to God.
I renewed my faith, my daughter was baptized and my son was baptized a month later.
We are all believers thanks to the example of my mother's life.
~SHARON HEMMERLY~

"Is God right on time, or what!!!!!!!!!"
On Monday, August 11th, 2003, I received a call from my daughter, Tracy, who had moved to her new older home a couple of weeks ago.
The outlet in 3 year old Abigail's bedroom was so hot it melted the plastic/rubber outlet guard and was extremely hot to the touch.
Tracy called the Homeowner's Warranty and they sent an electrician out within 2 hours.
He said he cannot believe there was not a fire.
He burned his finger and a welt formed from touching the outlet.
All other electricity is fine in the house. PRAISE THE LORD that it was caught in time.
The electrician said he was supposed to be working somewhere else
and would not be able to come to Tracy's for two more days otherwise.
The rains kept him from going to that other job.
HALLELUIA!!!!!!!!!!! Is God right on time, or what!!!!!!!!!
God be Praised.
~Mel Patterson~ Drexel Hill, Pa.~

"A Short Story"
On August 16, 1999 we received the phone call that everyone fears.
My brother Jim, had fallen from a tree,
the distance equivalent to a 7 1/2 story building
and was being rushed to Jonesboro Arkansas for emergency surgery.
Upon arriving at the hospital the paramedics,
whom we knew well, living in a small town,
came up to us and told us a remarkable story that blessed us even though the situation was grim.
They told us that on the helicopter ride,
they had lost Jim for several min,
that he didnt lose conciousness after the fall.
He was praying when his heart stopped
and when they brought him back several minutes later
he was still praying the same prayer!!
The paramedics said they knew that Jim had been somewhere else praying while gone,
that they felt he had been in the presence of God that few min.
The drs came out and told us that Jim was very critical,
they didnt understand how he had even survived the fall
and they only gave him an hour to live if that long.
Jim had been a devount christian for 26 yrs,
never looking back after he accepted the Lord
and many of his denomination called him a fanatic.
PTL!! We stayed at the hospital for 9 1/2 days praying for Jim.
There were so many people there, friends, family, etc,
that they gave us a waiting room all to ourselves.
At any time during those 9 1/2 days, any hour,
if someone came in someone was praying.
The dr listened to all the stories people told him about things
Jim had done for the Lord and he began to believe that Jim was going to survive also.
This dr stayed some days 22 hours working on Jim.
They never let him come to
because they said the pain would be too intense,
that all of his organs were crushed.
But we knew he could hear us, he would squeeze my hand when I asked him if he wanted me to pray.
Gangrine began to set in on Jims hands and feet and
in a few hours it had gone from his fingers and toes,
to his knees and wrists.
They began to talk about a mputation.
My other brothers kept saying that Jim would rather be with the Lord.
We had been praying all along Gods Will in this so we increased our prayers.
We heard over the intercom when they called a code blue on him and rushed to I.C.U.
They lost Jim 6 times in less than an hour and brought him back.
The dr came and asked us what we wanted them to do
because though my name was the one on his right to life form,
he had stated that he didnt want to be on life support if his brain was dead???
That was the only organ that wasnt dead so his form didnt apply??
We told them that we knew where Jim was going, where he had been headed for 26 years,
home to be with the Lord.
So the next time his heart stopped,
they let him go on home to be with Jesus and our loved ones who had gone on before.
The most precious thing we learned after this
was that one of the paramedics had accepted the Lord
after seeing Jim die in that helicopter ride
and come back praying the same prayer.
He said that the most awesome feeling came over everyone in that helicopter
and they all knew that Jim had been somewhere else praying!!!
This was such an awesome testimony to me that this wonderful brother,
just doing what he always did , praying had helped this man find God!!!
He would be so blessed knowing this and I think he does know.
We miss him but know that we will be together again one day.
I praise the Lord for giving us this peace and comfort in His promises to us.
By: DJ French~ 8/12/03~Arkansas~

I Remember Miss E.D."
(True Story)
I was seven years old when I first met Miss E.D.
Mama, my sister and two brothers and I moved right next door to her.
I liked Miss E.D.'s house better than ours
because hers was a pretty white painted wooden home with a long, high porch in front.
You could tell her house was very old, just by looking at it.
I remember the screen on her front door was torn,
and the door made a funny, sqeaking noise every time it opened and shut.
But I liked her house and back then,
I thought it was the cutest little house I'd ever seen.
She had the prettiest trees in her front yard that always provided so much shade.
The first time I saw Miss E.D.,
she was sitting on the steps of her front porch.
She loved to sit outside and watch the cars go by in front of her house.
Miss E.D. I figured, was about ninety years old.
Seems to me that one time when she and I were talking,
I asked her how old she was.
I recollect she told me she was 'bout ninety years old'.
She lived in her house all by herself,
but she got around pretty good, I thought.
She spent a lot of time during the day sitting outside on that big porch of hers.
The day Miss E.D. and I actually met,
I'd walked over to where she was sitting out on her porch and said hello to her.
I remember she said 'hi' back to me and
then I sat down on the steps next to her and we started talking.
After that, almost every day,
I'd walk over and sit next to her on her porch steps and we'd talk
One day, she asked me if I'd like to earn some extra money by raking up the leaves in her front yard.
She told me that she'd pay me six cents a day and so I told her 'yes, I sure would like to do that!'
I was planning on saving the money I made
so I could buy my mother some soda-pops to drink.
We lived not too far from a little store that us kids could walk to.
We were pretty poor back then and didn't have much money.
My mama loved those 'Butter-nut' candy bars and bottles of coca-cola.
Back then those coca-cola bottles were the short, small bottles.
The ones that really 'tasted good and had that strong, acidy flavor', mama would say.
I figured I'd surprise mama and earn some money so she could have those two treats more often, that she loved.
I sure did love my sweet little mama and she was a good mother to us four kids.
That made me want to do nice things for her.
I know mama did without a lot of things back then
and she had four kids to raise all by herself.
I didn't mind that we didn't have expensive clothes to wear,
or a fancy home to live in,
or a fancy car or a lot of material possessions.
What we had was more important...-we had each other and a mother who loved us very much.
We were a very close little family, the five of us.
Mama did her own hair, her own nails, and she never spent much money on herself.
She was a good cook and we always had plenty of food to eat.
Nothing fancy, but plenty of food.
Our house was always clean and neat and mama kept our little houses looking like little doll houses.
So two or three times a week, after school,
I'd use Miss E.D.'s big old rake and she'd bring out some big bags and I'd rake up the leaves in her yard.
It'd take me a long time to do the raking because she had a lot of leaves in her front yard.
I remember that rake very well because it was much bigger than I was!
I was a small seven year old; skinny and short, to boot.
That rake of hers was so tall and I remember how heavy it was for me to hold.
It was one of those old timey rakes with a long, heavy wooden handle.
Miss E.D. would always let me know when she thought I'd done enough raking for the day.
She probably felt sorry for me, watching me trying to handle that big rake.
But I was determined that I could do it, and I did!
She always sat out on her porch steps and kept me company while I was working.
Mama would tell me to go ahead and spend my 'raking money' on myself,
when I walked to that little store down the road.
I would wait until the end of each week when I had saved up enough pennies
to be able to buy mama a soda and a candy bar.
I'd walk home with a little paper sack holding mama's goodies in it,
feeling proud of myself for earning the money, all by myself.
I remember one time I was walking to that store carrying a five dollar bill that mama had given me.
I was to use it to buy a few groceries that day.
Mama had given me a list of what I was to buy.
It was very windy out that day, and I guess I wasn't holding on to that five dollar bill tight enough,
because it blew right out of my hand!
It blew down the side-walk and just kept right on moving, fast.
I remember chasing after it, for what seemed to me, the longest time.
I never could catch it, though. It blew away and I never found it.
I walked on back home and I was crying real hard.
I just hated to tell mama that I'd lost that five dollar bill.
When I walked into our house, I was still crying and I told mama what had happened.
I told her how I had chased that five-dollar bill for the longest but just couldn't catch it.
She never got mad at me about it though.
She told me it was alright and to stop crying.
I think I felt even worse about it because mama was so sweet to me about me losing that money.
I knew full well though, how much money five dollars was to us at that time.
I remember thinking that I could make it up by raking more leaves for Miss E.D.
It is true, at that time, that I considered my raking job a real important job.
And those six pennies that Miss E.D. paid me each day, was a good sum of money to me.
Sometimes Miss E.D. took me to Church with her.
She went to a small country church in town.
I remember the first night she took me with her.
I sat on a pew close to the front, next to her.
I listened to every word that Preacher said that night.
I guess the Good Lord blessed me with a wonderful memory, because to this day,
I remember that Preacher and parts of his sermon.
I will never forget how much I enjoyed that Church service.
I really liked it and kept thinking that night how
much I'd like to go back to Miss E.D.'s Church with her sometime.
I sat real still and quiet all through the service.
I guess I wanted to show Miss E.D. that I had been taught how to behave and sit quietly like a nice young lady.
And so I did. I loved singing those old Gospel songs we sang
and I well remember taking in everything that Preacher was saying.
I remember getting a funny feeling inside my heart
while I was listening to what that Preacher was preaching about that night.
I didn't know it then, at the time,
but it was God's Holy Spirit convicting my heart.
I was not Saved then. I was not yet a Christian
and God's Holy Spirit was talking to me that night.
But it would be years later before I would come to know Jesus Christ as my Personal Saviour.
But Praise God I did one day, while at home by myself,
got on my knees right there at my sofa, and Invited Jesus into my heart.
I realized I was a Lost sinner and I repented of my sins that day and became a new creature in Christ.
When we moved out of the house that was next door to Miss E.D.'s,
I really missed that sweet old lady.
I missed all the talks we use to have.
I have never forgotten her.
She was my friend.
~Author/Written By:Tammy Boatman-Young~Texas~USA~

"No Title"
I love you Lord, please take my hand now,
I love you Lord
in your presence I humbly bow.
~CEB~

"No Title"
YOU
THE GREAT I AM
DIED FOR MAN.~SJB~

Midi Playing: "Precious Memories"
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