If Walls Could Talk

A while ago Nelson and I were running errands and decided to take the back roads home instead of the highway (for 28 miles). He said, “There’s lots of interesting stuff off the beaten trail that nobody gets to see.”

Three Oaks schoolhouseDriving along winding roads past country fields, colorful farm equipment, and family vegetable stands, we rounded a bend and came to something significant: an old-fashioned, one-room school- house. Its foundation was of rocks, the rest of it built with small red bricks.

Nelson pulled over so we could take a closer look. A plaque verified its name (Spring Creek School), age (1886), district (No. 3), and current owner (Three Oaks Township Parks and Recreation).

School children, 1800'sWe tried to imagine what students were like as they attended this school 127 years ago, wondering how many studied at once. Though the door was locked, through a window we saw a giant pot-bellied stove and later learned it was original to the school, along with the thick plank flooring and wood-paneled walls.

Little House booksImmediately I thought of the “Little House on the Prairie” books, much-loved and often- read in our home. Laura Ingalls was a school girl in the 1880’s too, so the children who attended Spring Creek School  probably lived lives very similar to hers. Later we learned the “modern” brick school had replaced a cherry-wood, one-room log school built in 1844 on that spot.

Far more important than how the little red schoolhouse came into being, though, or even how well it’s held up through the decades, were the connections made between those who passed through its door. Childhood friendships, student-teacher relationships, mentoring situations, and student-to-student tutoring all probably mattered longer than just school hours. When people left for the day, for the year, or even permanently, what remained?

We learn in Scripture that relationships are really all that matter: (1) God, Jesus, and the Spirit to each other; (2) members of that Trinity to us; and (3) people to people. How we relate is critical (both for now and for eternity) and the Lord steadily supplies opportunities for us to practice making wise choices on both counts. If and when we fail, he doesn’t give up on us but soon provides another go-round at exactly what we messed up the first time.

Children and adults alike can be kind to each other or act badly, choosing to either inspire or discourage others. But in wondering about the children and teachers who used the little Spring Creek School, I like to think that solid friendships were made during the 1880’s and beyond, positive influences that lasted through future generations, all the way till today.

Three Oaks, 1886Wanting to find out, Nelson walked to a nearby farm to ask a few  questions. Approaching the stand of fresh strawberries out in front, he asked the woman there if she knew anything about the school. “Oh yes,” she said, handing him a pint of berries. “My grandfather was a student there, and our farm here was his farm.”

And she still lives there, just across the road from Spring Creek School.

“Live in harmony with one another…. Never be wise in your own sight.” (Romans 12:16)

Happy Birthday, Nate…

Every year on your birthday I look forward to writing you, even though I know my letter can’t be delivered. In the back of my mind, though, there’s always the possibility that by God’s doing, you just might be able to read it.

Only 64In thinking back on this past year, I realize I haven’t had a single dream about you. I’ve talked with other widows who occasionally “meet” their men in dreams and cherish these encounters as if they were real events. I confess I too have put my head on the pillow hoping you might appear that night, but it hasn’t happened recently.

That’s ok, though, because the few times we’ve met in dreams ended with your contented departure and my fretful resistance to it. But if I could meet you for real, I’d ask about every detail of your life in Paradise. Scripture tells me you’re in the presence of Jesus, surely a rich place of worship and learning.

When Jesus was on earth, he taught crowds of people who often scratched their heads in confusion at what he said. But I’ll bet you understand him perfectly now. How glorious!

As far as your earthly family goes, last week I gained another birthday increase, once again celebrating without my birthday buddy. But I’m getting used to it, since you’ve been gone for nearly 4 years. I still don’t like it, but I no longer cry.

Our family continues to expand with the birth of grandson Andrew Kenneth last spring. With 4 children ages 4 and under, Katy and Hans sure do lead lively lives, but they’re well organized and tackle all of it together. You’d be proud of this son of yours, once so disorganized but now efficient and productive. I’ve just spent a week and a half with them, and it’s a good thing I took my vitamins before I got there!

When I write to you next summer, Linnea and Adam’s fourth baby (due in January) will have revealed his or her name, face, and personality. They’re hoping it will be another smooth home birth, and I’m hoping to be part of it! We’ll miss you in a special way as we rejoice over that new little life.

The rest of your family is thriving in multiple categories, although none of your kids or kids-in-law are free of challenges. Three are job-hunting, one is a full time university student, several are financially tight, one is about to launch a web site, and one has been offered a teaching position in missions.

Most importantly, each is steadily walking toward God. None of them have taken the giant leap you have, right into his presence, but none of them is standing still either. And it’s a daily encouragement that while you’re living face-to-face with Jesus and other believers in Paradise, Jesus is also living with us, through his Spirit.

Touching youI miss you every day, Nate, and am earnestly looking forward to the time when faith in Christ will become sight of him, because then we’ll all be together.

But for now, please remember how much I love you.

From the one you used to call “your Meg.”

Calendar Decisions

Turning 65The numbers are piling up. Today I arrived at 68, and the label “middle sixties” has evaporated (not to mention “middle age”). I’m officially pushing 70. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

I know plenty of septuagenarians who are still in the thick of life, and every month I read fresh stories of 70+ successes (when my AARP magazine arrives).

All in all, 68 doesn’t bother me. I don’t think 70 will either, because our length of days isn’t up to us.

Happy 70th...God makes that call, and our part is to live each day to his prescribed fullest, no matter what the year. None of us understand why some people live to 100 and others die in infancy.

For example, my dad had two brothers, surprise-twins born in 1910. The first was named William, and in looking for a second boy-name, my grandparents glanced at that morning’s newspaper. King Edward of England was in the headlines, so baby #2 became Edward.

William lived only 20 months, dying of pneumonia. Edward lived 94 years. This seems out of kilter, but God doesn’t usually disclose the reasons for his calendar decisions. That’s probably because we wouldn’t understand them (or agree with them) anyway.

All of us wonder how long we’ll live and which birthday cake will be our last. If I reach my 90’s as both of my parents did, I’ll be hanging around for 25 more years, an astounding thought that’s not necessarily all good. As Mom said, “Life after 90 is full of troubles.” She meant physically, but included in that are emotional and relational troubles, too.

The Bible says the same thing as Mom did, but a little differently, insisting that troubles begin in earnest after 70, not 90. We can say, “Oh that isn’t true these days. Fifty is the new 30, and 70 is the new 50!”

Maybe.

The foundational truth about growing old, however, is that we’re to do it gracefully and in God’s way. Scripture assures us that if we’re still alive, it’s because he wants us to be, and if he wants us to be (no matter our age), it’s because he’s got valuable things for us yet to do. Thinking like this changes age-related stereotypes, giving us purpose and direction for each day. That even goes for life in a hospital bed or a wheelchair.

God never sidelines anybody. Each one is valuable to him whether that person lives to 100 or dies in the womb before a birth date can get on the calendar. And those troubles that come after 70? Or 90? If we ask God how he wants us to travel through them, circumstances will defy logic and produce good things.

Lotsa birthday candles

So…. No matter how many candles are on the cake, it can always be a HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

“You, God, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it. Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set.” (Psalm 119:4-5  The Message)