Relay for life

Seeds

As I write these words I can hardly comprehend the time that has passed.  This is 2014 and Daddy passed March 2010.  It has been 4 years!  Wow!  I can still see him gathering flower seeds, riding the lawn mower, roaming the hills with the weed eater, collecting apples from the trees…all those things that made daddy!  As I maintain my own yard now I am reminded every time I pull a weed of the love and care Daddy took in his yard.  The flowers that are blooming in my yard have practically all been strategically placed by him at one time or another.  Anytime he came over he would pack his pockets full of seeds and I would see him roaming my yard spreading the posies around.  I usually would not see the evidence till weeks later when they began to sprout up.

 

This week on my lunch break as I walked all over town I stopped to admire and of course take pictures of some beautiful flowers along Main Street.  I noticed as I looked at these freshly planted flowers that there among the blooms were a few vegetables thrown in.  A tomato plant and a cucumber vine hidden and growing beautifully and there at the end of the row, a pear tree among a bunch of crab apples.  I thought the town of Rainelle had really come up with an excellent idea!  Pretty and plentiful!  That was Monday.  Wednesday I was in Lewisburg and as I go into Wal-Mart there is Lonnie with a buggy of flowers.  Now that is unusual for me to see so I had to look twice!  But yes, it was my brother with a cart full of pretty posies.  So we talk for a bit about the different kinds of flowers daddy used to have, about perennials, about annuals and collecting seeds.  I tell him about my walk and how the flowers looked so pretty in Rainelle.  Well wasn’t I surprised to learn that the town of Rainelle didn’t plant those flowers…Lonnie did.  And he added those wonderful veggies.  He plans on planting a strawberry or 2 also.  I thought how much like Daddy he was; sowing seeds of flowers!  Daddy would’ve approved; encouraged it and probably given him a few of his own to sow!

 

Proverbs 22:6 (KJV)

⁶ Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it

I think not only of the seeds daddy sowed down through the years but the seeds that Mommy sowed.  Some have already sprouted, grown and made more seeds.  Some are laying there waiting….I believe they have taken root, they just aren’t all flowery and blooming yet.  They are getting their nutrition, water and lots of sunshine!  We just don’t see the bloom yet.  Daddy’s legacy of love of outdoors, hard work ethic, and love of family has produced many seeds, some we see, and some we don’t.  But the roots run deep, just like with the seeds mommy has sown.  Her goal in life was to see all of her children in Heaven with her one day.  She planted those seeds.  And just like daddy would bring seeds to my house in his pocket and spread them without my knowledge, Mommy was doing the same with us kids as we grew up.  The many times I would see her sitting in her rocking chair with her bible?  Seeds planted.  The many times I saw her in conversation with Jesus?  Seeds.  Being kind no matter what?  Seeds.  Praying with me?  Seeds.  I have seen many of these seeds bloom…and as I watch my children and the other grand children I see more seeds that she planted take root and they are blooming and I know that in Heaven Mommy and Daddy are thinking about their garden here on earth.  They are still watching out for us.  And every now and then I can hear daddy say, pull that weed!  Don’t let it grow because before you know it, it will take over the whole garden!  That’s those little annoying things in our life.  They all start out as little pesky weeds but if we don’t go ahead and take care of them- BAM!- they consume out whole life.  Daddy was the best when it came to killing out weeds.  He would use a dust and a spray and then he would always try a home remedy!  I can’t help but think he would’ve been a fan of Pinterest!  But the main thing was…get rid of the weed.  Don’t nurture it, don’t give it the time of day…get rid of it so the good seeds can grow; become rooted; and bloom!

I didn’t have the pleasure of being with my dad this Fathers Day but I did have the opportunity to enjoy the garden he started.  I got to see the seeds bloom that he planted.  I even got to pull a few weeds in his garden.  And just remember just because you don’t see bloom right away doesn’t mean the seeds you sow aren’t taking root and growing.  All things in Gods time…Even seeds.  So while you wait for the bloom…pull a few weeds.

Matthew 13:8 (NIV)

⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown

 

Just wanted to say "Thank You" to everyone for such a birthday celebration you gave me and Vesta when I was home on May 31. It was a surprise to both of us and I considered it very special. Was wonderful to see everyone. Daniel and Alice, sorry that you were not able to be with us. Thank you Rita and Blain for the wonderful hospitaliy. Blain you are in my prayers daily for those pains in your arm and shoulder. Rita thank you for taking me to visit your church and for being my ride to the airport. Thanks for showing me 'your prayer room' in the woods. It is awesome. Lonnie and Marsha, the visit to your house provided me the first opportunity I have experienced since high school graduation to see three of the students with which I graduated nearly 45 years ago. One of them told me the school was planning to have the 45th graduation get together later this fall. Doubt I will be able to make it but it would be nice. They would all be shocked I bet if I showed up in my Dress Blue uniform! Ruth and Dan, thanks for picking me up in Charleston. Vesta, it was a great thrill to celebrate with you on your birthday, a special day you shared with my Mom, and your Great Grandma! Trish and Jacob, want to thank you for letting me help out in your garage. I really enjoyed doing that, more than you can know. Steve, that bench you created out of the cherry log is a work of art. Shows me just how much of Daddy you have, he was never one to throw away anything and could find unique uses for things to which other people would then exclaim, "Will, I declare!" Course they were just sorry they didn't think of it first. That bench will get lots of use. The door to your bathroom is a classic example, a tribute to you Teresa. Michelle, Joe, and the girls just moved out of their house in Germany and into a Hotel in preparation for their departure from Europe. We hope to soon have them where we can actually visit with them on occasion. It will indeed be a treat. Love you all.