When I open my
laptop, my chosen screen saver is a wonderful picture of Bonnie, David, and me
in a porch swing with Jim standing behind us.
This is not just any swing on any large, old white porch. Oh, no, this is the famous farmhouse porch setting
from the wonderful movie, Field of
Dreams. In the late 80s when the
movie came to theaters, our family was among the first to seek out the Iowa
farm, a real working farm, literally in the middle of nowhere. That day, we shared the field and bleachers
with a lovely local related group who were going to see the movie that night in
Dubuque. For our family, that moment
remains a truly special memory.
When
“assigned” to write about three objects/things of importance to us for our next
writers’ group (tonight, no pressure), I immediately moved away from objects to
less tangible choices. Memories of my
husband are especially precious since he is no longer working out our life
journey by my side. He had some wonderful
qualities and quietly performed many acts of kindness. But he also had a mischievous side and could
be really funny. He was “on” the evening
of the mass, dinner and program during the weekend of activities for his 50th
high school reunion. After the mass in
the chapel where the boys went to high school, we went to a dining area and
enjoyed a lovely dinner. Jim had chaired
the planning committee which met for three years, so he was the MC.
After
appropriately thanking various people on the committee for their contributions
to the event, he slipped into probably 20-30 minutes of funny memories and string
of consciousness comments. He even
briefly played the priest who used to be on Saturday Night Live, with his black
umbrella for confessions. As I listened
to the crowd laugh and looked around at the audience of about 90 people, I had
the feeling I was at a comedy club enjoying a clean, stand-up comedian’s
routine. It was a great night for
everyone but one that really meant a lot to Jim. He got a standing ovation when he finished
and let the music group continue with more of the expected program.
Something
else that adds so much to my life and has for some time is the living word of
God. This is not exactly the same thing
as the written words collected in the Bible although those words often provide
the vehicle. In the book of Hebrews, the
scriptures are described as “living and active . . .” when life is breathed
into them by the Holy Spirit and then they are spoken and delivered to a
listening ear and open heart. Such words
can replace fear with faith, despair with hope, and confusion with
understanding. A line from Psalm 46 has
been brought to my attention over and over again: “Be still and know that I am God.” Another translation for be still is to “cease
striving,” in other words, calm down, remember how great and trustworthy Jesus
is, and that He is working in our behalf.
A longtime friend from St. Louis sent me a lovely plaque with the verse
on it after Jim died.
Finally,
I value the expression of genuine kindness among us human creatures. I am not a big fan of random acts of kindness
although I didn’t turn down the paid ticket at McDonald’s. Sadly, my order was quite minimal; had I only
known the opportunity that awaited me.
Just this week, I received a wonderfully thoughtful, kind, and
faith-filled note from a St. Louis friend remembering her own mother and
Jim. But she did not leave me out of the
strong words of friendship and faith. In
the last couple weeks, a nice lady I met at the EIU rec center dropped by with
some produce from her garden and a visit.
Moving from being a casual acquaintance at the center or the widows’
group or even church to more of a personal friend visiting me or inviting me to
his or her home does not come easily or often, not for a newcomer like me. I
believe Jesus spoke of “being a stranger and inviting Me in.”
Just
writing about these experiences helps me appreciate what is good in my life. The
Apostle Paul said, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever
is noble, whatever is right . . . Think about such things and the God of peace
will be with you: (Phillippians 4:8).
Good memories, living scriptures and demonstrated kindness cheer me and
feed my soul. Gifts—for me and others.
