Jesus

This is Our America

/ apronsandappetites.com / 4 Comments

Since the tornado in the early morning hours of February 29, it seems I just haven’t had the inclination to think about much of anything else except the ones who were killed, their families, the destruction, the coming together of community, the pouring in of disaster relief workers and monies and food and …

It’s amazing to hear the stories.

Jaylynn, 22, was such a believer that even though her parents couldn’t find her, they knew that no matter where she was, Jaylynn was with God.  Even in her death she glorified the name of Jesus.

carrying the school color

To combat a threat by the church that protests at funerals, can’t bring myself to even acknowledge their name, hundreds of people lined the sidewalks to shield the families.  Thankfully, the threat was an empty one, but the sight of all those people in the community coming together to support the families was powerful.

A man walked into the Methodist Church, the hub in the community for serving disaster teams and volunteers, said he was from Chicago and had driven down to help.  He handed over $1,000.

Another person walked into the clinic to ask where the $7,000 check should go.

Truckloads upon truckloads of necessities.

People from all walks of life, all over the country, working to saw trees away from homes, pick up debris, anything that needs done.

Catholic Church before the Leap Year Tornado

Catholic Church after the tornado

People giving and giving and giving and helping and helping and helping.  This is America.  The true America.  The real America.

 

The Love Story of Jack and Charlene

/ apronsandappetites.com / 1 Comment

Jack and Charlene

Here, in Jack’s own words, is how the day of their wedding began:

“It was a cold, wet day on January 13, 1947, on a Monday morning that I drove from our home on Eagle Creek to Charlene’s home to get her.  Then we went to John and Reba Bradley’s home near Junction.  They were going with us to Morganfield, Kentucky, to witness our wedding.  I had a 1939 Ford car which had over a 100,000 miles showing.  No telling how many times the speedometer had been run back.  It was the last year that Ford had placed the shift lever on top of the transmission extending from the floor.  For some reason that I can’t remember, Charlene and I went through Equality on our way to get John and Reba.  When we went to approach Route 13, I hit the shifting lever to put it in second gear, and the shifting lever came out of the transmission and fell in the floor on Charlene’s side of the car.  By this time I was out on the highway.  The transmission had shifted into second gear before the lever came out or at the same time.  I thought about driving on to John and Reba’s in second gear, then I noticed the entrance to Pekin Coal Mine, so I turned in.   I picked up the shift lever and put it back down in the transmission.  I held the clutch pedal down and started the engine and gently shifted from second to first gear.  It worked okay, so we went on our way.  Every time I had to shift, I did it gently.”

Jack and Charlene Martin

Jack and Charlene raised three children together over their 50-some years together.   She had a stroke and for many years Jack was a gentle and loving caretaker before she went home to be with their Lord, leaving Jack behind.

Here are Darla’s words of her father-in-law’s care for his wife while she was in the nursing home:

“Jack was always so kind….he loved and cared for her until the end.  One day I was sitting in the sunroom at Fountain View with him and her, and he was taking lotion and dotting a Kleenex with lotion, working at getting the dry skin off of her face.  It was like time had stopped for a second.  And when I looked around, everyone was watching..a nurse, other visitors and residents of the nursing home. It was right then that I knew why she was still here (because at this time in her life she had lost her speech).  So others could see Jesus’ love through Jack Martin caring for his wife. “

I loved Charlene Martin and I love Jack Martin.  They were one of the best examples of God’s plan for marriage that I have ever seen; as well as two of the best examples of the word Christian.

And they were one heck of an example of a great love story!

Back to the Flooding…my basement to be exact

/ apronsandappetites.com / 11 Comments

It could be that I’ve mentioned this — that my basement flooded really badly about three years ago or so, and I have not yet recuperated from that horrible experience of staying up for three days to empty shop vacs, sleeping 10 minutes at a time — but in case I didn’t,  it was absolutely horrible!

no sleep!

And then it did it again a week later.  My beloved sister came that time and helped me, or I would have had a major nervous breakdown.  I will never get over the trauma!  So now every time there is a drop of water on the basement floor during a deluge, I freak totally out.

Except for tonight.  When I stepped on the throw rug at the bottom of the stairs and it went squish, I didn’t even freak.  Just asked God, “What do you think I’m made of?  Why do you think I can handle all this?  Because, truly, I cannot.”  Still waiting on the reply.  Right now I’m too tired to care… plus it is barely leaking, just soaked all the rugs and a few other items.  Nothing like the river that ran “the other time,” as I think of it.

Still, that is nothing compared to sandbagging and more sandbagging to try to save your home, and the water overtaking it anyway, before you have a chance to get everything out that you needed to get out.  Our high school kids have been volunteering their time to fill the bags and help any way they can.

let's hope they hold

The ground is so soft, full of water.  There is nowhere on the face of this earth that I would consider “safe.”  Earthquakes, mud slides, floods, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, lightening…

I’m glad I know Jesus.