Dear Mom,
Last night was one of those times I could feel your smile around me. I heard from a friend that there was a Revival service at Cove United Methodist Church, a 100 year old church in NW Georgia. I've driven past it before and I've always wanted to go inside and also explore the little cemetery behind it. My sweet Dale Allen agreed to go on this theophany jaunt with me (celebrating 32 years of marriage to this amazing man today!!) and we enjoyed the drive through the Chickamauga Battlefield on our way to the church ("always take the scenic route" is a lesson I learned well from you!)
As we walked through the cemetery filled with crumbling gravestones and Confederate flags it occurred to me that this kind of outing is something you would have loved! And you would have had to talk Dad into doing it too though I think Dale is just a little more open to the possibilities of theophanies than Dad was :-) In the quiet of that little Southern cemetery I felt your presence and the influence you had and even continue to have on my life. I know you loved old cemeteries and the stories that silently tell just as much as I do.
Pretty sure we were the only Yankees at the service and, yes, that still matters down here, and pretty sure we were the only visitors as everyone seemed to know each other. One sweet lady came up to us and introduced herself and gave us a little history about Cove church. And here is a funny little thing......she kept saying that if the mosquitos were bad during the service she would give us some Bounce and we had no idea what that meant but the mosquitos were bad because there's no air conditioning so the door was open and those were the biggest bugs I've ever seen. Eventually she went to her pew and came back with 2 Bounce Dryer Sheets and told us to put them in our pockets and they would keep those mosquitoes away....and they did!
We sang a couple of old hymns, a really good Bluegrass group played, a local lady with a big voice sang "How Great Thou Art" and then the message was delivered. I'll refrain from much comment on the message, or I should say the Messenger, but he was seriously like something out of a Southern fiction novel. He closed by singing a Kris Kristofferson song....enough said.
Anyway, my mom, it was such a random outing and one you would have loved - one we would have had some good giggles over. Thank you for instilling that sense of adventure and curiousity in me! Thank you for dragging a reluctant teenage daughter with attitude to more than one event you had seen in the paper or heard about from a stranger you met on the street. Thank you for so often making me your partner in crime for the possibility of a discovery and a memory maker.
I miss you so very much but on nights like last night I realize this...."you will always be a part of me for you were present during so much of my unfolding."
love and thanks,
maribeth
4 comments:
Very cool Aunt Mari! Sounds like an interesting experience. You make me want to do more random stuff like that.
Mari;
I wish I had known your mother, she sounds so incredible. Now I know where you get your sense of adventure and your zest for life. Glad that after 32 years you don't have to twist Dale's arm to join you for such an adventure. I'm learning how to enjoy life again from you - long distance. Thanks!!!
awesome post!sounds like you're living out yesterday's devotion from"Jesus Calling". "...I want you to live this day abundantly, seeing all there is to see, doing all there is to do....each day of life is a glorious gift, but so few people know how to live within the confines of today....I am training you to keep focus on My Presence in your present. This is how to receive abundant Life, which flows freely from My throne of grace." :-) Thanks for sharing.
Happy Anniversary! I loved reading this post. I wish that I could spend more time "taking the scenic route", but I suppose when I reach the stage of life you are in, I might be able to. You are an inspiration to me in many ways- Love you, Mari!
Andi
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