I wrote this in September, 2010 after my parents were honored by their church, Boyd Baptist Church in Bonham, TX. If you read the tab "A Bit About Me" - you know my daddy went to his heavenly home on July, 7th. I want to share this as as a way of introducing my new readership to my parents and honoring my dad's legacy of service.
Reflecting Upon My Godly Heritage
I lead, in part, by being vulnerable...by sharing out of my personal experiences with the prayer God will be able to use my experiences to help others. Sometimes, I've even tried to be more introverted, but it just isn't how God wired me!
The topic: MY SWEET PARENTS - Don and Ruth (I'm Donna Ruth...creative, hugh? lol!)
On a side note: I just laughed out loud when I realize my mother probably never thought she would hear me call her "sweet"...And - there was certainly a time, she would not have thought of me as "sweet" either. I say this as encouragement to those of you raising a "Little Missy" with a strong will and attitude (who, me?)!
I spent last weekend with my parents and siblings. All I knew was that my dad was being honored at their church for his years of service as a deacon (just over 34 years). You think I would have placed a tissue in my purse in preparation for a few tears, but no...! In fact, when our family was getting settled into our two pews, I reluctantly sat next to my sister. I love my sister, but was worried because we were sitting directly in front of my mother. I wasn't even thinking about crying; I was just worried I would crack up laughing during a serious moment and I was afraid my mother would have to thump us on the head or something. My sister and I find almost EVERYTHING funny when we are together and I was thinking to myself..."Just let me make it through this service without laughing hysterically." No particular reason...things are just funnier when I'm sitting with my sister - especially when we are in a situation when we really should NOT laugh (like my grandmother's funeral - as a strictly hypothetical example!).
Well, the honoring of my parents started and my tears started flowing and I could NOT get a grip! No tissue to be found. My sister had a used paper towel in her purse. I never had the courage to ask the origin of the paper towel, as I was just glad to have SOMETHING to help out!
Here are just a few things that touched my heart during this service and in the week since:
1) The church honored both my dad AND mom! They made a point of having both of their names on the plaque they presented and I love that! Even though my dad was being honored for his years as a deacon - my mom certainly has been, not only a supportive wife, but involved in many aspects of church ministry herself.
2) I heard my dad referred to as "Brother Don." I love things that make me ponder good childhood memories...like how I was raised in a church where all of the men were "Brother So and So." It made me thank God for Brother J.R. and Brother J.D. (no idea if they had names or just initials! And - no, they were not related except in Christ.). They, along with a lot of other godly men and women, did so much for our little church.
3) No matter how many times I may have heard the song "Thank You for Giving to the Lord," there was nothing like hearing it sung for my parents. In fact, the music minister said that when the pastor asked him to sing it in honor of my parents, he thought, "Humm...that song has been so overdone." But - then he realized how perfect it was to honor my parents and he knew he wanted to sing it. Listen to the words and you will SEE why I cried. It really does describe my parents. (Here's a video if you aren't familiar with the song or even if you know the song, consider watching this for the amazingly sweet pictures, or consider watching it if you just need/want a good cry.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFrdJ2V3r7Y&feature=related
4) Knowing my dad's health is slowing him down from being as active in church as he once was...The progression of Parkinson's Disease is a tough thing to watch.
5) Seeing the people of the church stand and applaud in recognition of my parents...Nothing could have prepared me for that experience.
5) The older I get, the more I appreciate my godly heritage. There was a time, growing up in my small town, I thought EVERYONE was raised in church - or at least hearing about Jesus in their home. Sadly, I now realize this is far from true.
6) I couldn't help but think about my mother being my G.A. leader (Girls in Action - similar to Awana's). We had to memorize "The Roman Road" or the verses in Romans telling what we must do to be saved. It was from memorizing God's Word - I knew He wanted to be very real to me. With both of my parents - kneeling in prayer in our living room - I prayed and asked Jesus to be my Savior and Lord. I was eight years old. My life has never been the same.
Don and Ruth are approaching their 51st wedding anniversary. Last year, on the occasion of their 50th, I shared in the Principal's Pen newsletter column a tribute to them. In that column, I talked about their commitment to each other and to our family. I said I KNOW all of their years together have not been easy, but their personal happiness has never really been their goal. They have goals of worship, service, and family. They have had a marriage like most - full of ups and downs.
My daughter just sent me this YouTube video and the timing could not have been better! I decided to link it - even though this blog is getting long and I already linked a video. Trust me on this! The song, "Dancing in the Minefields," talks about the struggles and joys of working through the commitment of marriage. Watch it! Beautiful!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gs3fg_WsEg
Here are a couple of pictures from the weekend. Thank you for reading!
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| My Parents - Don and Ruth |
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| Me, Christi, Ruth, Don, Phil (Wish the picture really showed more of my parents' yard.. My mother is an amazing gardener! Me? Not so much!) |
