Sometimes It’s the “Little Things”

For whatever reason, and whether or not it’s a good thing, I am typically a deep thinker. Sometimes I wish that were not true. On any given day I could probably write several pages based on the deep thoughts I am having that day. It seems like I’m always looking for “the deeper meaning” in most every circumstance.

Now and then I remind myself to “chill,” and to let my mind rest. Then I can take a deep breath and recognize and appreciate the little things.

Like, yesterday evening I enjoyed a “cafe con crema.” When we were visiting our family in Argentina many years ago, I discovered that espresso drink (espresso with heavy, stiff whipped cream), but here in the States I hadn’t been able to replicate it without the work of actually whipping heavy cream (and being sure to use it before it spoiled). We recently found the Land O Lakes whipped cream that comes in a can like Reddi Wip and really is like heavy whipping cream. 

So with my Nespresso machine, using a Lungo capsule, and topping it with that heavy cream, voila! Same as cafe con crema in Argentina. 

A little thing, but it makes me smile.

Today I was able to complete the Kingfisher art piece that I started a couple of days ago. That means it didn’t end up in the trash can. I have heard “real” artists talk about their art going through “the ugly duckling” stage, and it does happen to me on almost every piece. But if I stick with it through that stage, and actually keep on until it’s finished, it’s a good feeling. 

It’s a little thing, but it’s a feeling of accomplishment that I like.

So, here in this writing is my evidence that I really can keep it simple sometimes and “bask” in the enjoyment of some “little things.”

#littlethings #cafeconcrema #nespresso #espresso #kingfisher #kingfisherwatercolor #watercolor

On This Date: March 4, 1956 (Turning Point in My Family's History)

 Today, March 4, 2024, marks the 68th anniversary of a significant event in my personal family history. On that date, March 4,1956, my father acknowledged and accepted God’s call to become a preacher. He was almost 30. I was almost 9, the oldest of four (later to become five). And, yes, I remember it well.

His decision on that date was even more dramatic against the backdrop of his life to that point: he had started drinking in high school, and after entering the Army Air Corps in World War II, had become an alcoholic.

Our family in 1954, before Daddy's decision

 I remember with sadness (and still some tears) those early days of my childhood with an alcoholic father. But I also remember the day, shortly after February 29,1956, when he came into the kitchen and said to his three daughters and baby son, “How would you kids like to have a preacher for a daddy?” A preacher’s kid? Are you kidding? No longer the embarrassing taunts from neighbors’ kids about how they were not allowed to play with us because of our father’s condition (often passed out)? “Yes! I would love it!," I remember answering. 

I never complained about, and was always thankful for, being a “preacher’s kid.” I had been something else, and I knew the miracle that had happened in our lives.

 Daddy had made the choice to turn his life over to God, a poignant story I’ll save for another time, a few days before March 4 (on February 29, 1956). At that time, he had promised God that if He would take away from him the desire to drink, he would do anything God asked. Daddy didn’t expect God’s response: God asked for his service in the ministry.

 Here is an excerpt from “My Life Story”:

__________

March 4, 1956

Daddy surrendered to the ministry at the First Baptist Church, West Helena, Arkansas, where Mother and we four children had attended regularly. Shortly thereafter Daddy preached his first sermon. I can remember seeing him come into the front yard that morning, having returned from preaching his first sermon. It was the happiest I had seen him. I think he knew that he COULD do what God was asking him to do.

[Added March 4, 2011: Email from Mother to Janene, Keith and me: It was 55 years ago today (on a Sunday night) that he went with us to church, & when Bro. [Wilson] Deese gave the invitation, he went forward and announced that he was surrendering to God’s call to be a preacher!!

When I asked for more detail, Mother wrote: When I looked up, as Daddy came back from talking to Bro. Deese [at the front of the church, during the “invitation,”], I saw that he was crying.  The thought came to me that I couldn't remember any other time seeing Daddy cry. Bro. Deese told the audience that "Red Wilson is coming tonight saying that he feels that the Lord is calling him to preach".

In the next couple of days, Bro. Deese came to our house and sat down and talked with Daddy for quite awhile.  I think Bro. Deese talked to Daddy that day about going to college.

__________

   

Our family in Summer 1956

 So, Daddy and Mother, and we four kids moved to Arkadelphia, Arkansas, later that same year, for Daddy to attend Ouachita Baptist College, to prepare for ministry. He began preaching wherever he could find the opportunity, and became pastor of his first church while still in college, in August 1956.  Daddy graduated from college in three years, with a major in New Testament Greek and straight A’s on his transcript.

Jessieville Baptist Church, Jessieville, Arkansas, 1958

 

From Daddy comes my love of learning

My two sisters and I began singing, first in two-part harmony and then shortly thereafter in three-part harmony, and we sang “special music” a lot of times when Daddy preached. Thus began the important role of music in our lives, that continues to this day, in my siblings and our children and grandchildren.

Other than how my young little life changed dramatically on March 4, 1956, how was that date a turning point in my personal history? It was because Daddy followed God’s call to be a preacher that, when he finished college, he began looking for a church to pastor in Missouri, where he could continue his studies at a seminary (Midwestern). The church that called Daddy to be their pastor was Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, Jefferson City, Missouri.
 

Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, Jefferson City, MO, 1959

In that little church there was a wonderful family named Ford. They had four children as well: three boys and a girl. Daddy’s first day as pastor there was June 28, 1959. That evening, after church, I staked my territory (remember, I had two sisters). “The oldest Ford boy is mine,” I said. That was the day I met and fell in love with that stinkin’ cute Russell Ford (he was 14; I was 12). My sister Janene is 15 months younger than I. She later fell in love with another of the Ford boys, David, and they got married three years after we did.

The love of my life, 1960

So, because Daddy turned his life over to God, accepted God’s call to be a preacher, followed God’s call to college, to his first pastorate, and then to Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Missouri, I met the man God had ordained for me. And because of that, we have had a wonderful marriage for 58 years so far, two wonderful children (Mark and Sharida), and our four wonderful grandchildren (Tory and Conner, Alyssa and Dawson), wonderful spouses for my children and grandchildren, and three incredibly awesome great-grandchildren.

But beyond that, I am overwhelmed with thoughts of how my children have influenced so many lives for God’s kingdom, including our son who is a pastor and church-planter, our grandson who is a pastor, our missionary granddaughter, our daughter who has a ministry as a high school counselor in a public school and works with young girls in a ministry program as well.

And what about Daddy, after that turning-point day? The first thing I remember was that he no longer wanted to be called “Red Wilson.” He said he wanted a different name, to go with his new identity. After that, he was known by his actual name, R.V. Wilson. He went on to pastor four small churches, all while he was also an educator (teacher, principal, and eventually Director of Teacher Certification for Missouri). 

So, he may have been your pastor, or your teacher, or your principal, or he may have signed your teaching certificate (he was all of that to me). For several years, he had a significant leadership role in Alcoholics Anonymous. Think of all those areas of influence just in his own personal life, based on that turning-point decision.

And how will the story continue? Only God knows. There are other stories through experiences of my siblings (my brother Keith and my sister Janene and her husband David) and their ministries, and prayerfully, through experiences of my husband and myself. 

The story continues through everyone whose lives have been positively affected by anyone in my family since Daddy’s decision in 1956—and their stories are ongoing, too… I know there are SO many people, and so, the story is never-ending.

That’s why I say March 4,1956, was a turning point in my family’s history.

Even though we cannot know all the ways the story will continue through the generations, the origin of the story will never change.

I am a thankful child of God—a thankful daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. 

I’m thankful that God called Daddy. 

I’m thankful that Daddy was willing to answer (even though he was not educated and far from a public speaker--God equipped him and he became a sought-after speaker at public events). 

I’m thankful that God allowed me to personally witness the awesome miracle of a changed life. 

And I’m thankful that the changed life positively impacted history from his time forward. 

That’s the way it works.

One thing about growing older, you know: you have the special perspective of looking back and actually seeing how God “works all things together for good.”

God performed a miracle in my family. He did that. He is still the same God. But it has always been true that it comes down to a personal and individual choice. Daddy “chose wisely.”

And what about you? Are you making decisions with your life today that will affect generations to come (infinitely)? The answer is yes, you are. The deeper question to ponder is whether your decisions today will leave a positive or a negative legacy.

Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

Coming Soon (the Hope of Spring)

For most of my adult life, I had a ready answer for, “What’s your favorite season?” Hands-down, it was Fall. Where I lived for most of my life, Fall signaled the end of a hot and humid summer and promised cool and crisp evenings to be enjoyed beside a wood-burning fireplace. I looked forward to sweaters and sweatshirts, apple pie and cinnamon baked goods, and cozy meals like chili and cheese suppers. 

The maple trees in the woods where we lived for a lot of years would turn yellow and orange and deep burgundy. My favorite flowers were autumn flowers, like mums. 

If we still lived in Missouri, Fall would still be my favorite season (it’s the season of my heart!). 

But now that we live in the Pacific Northwest, Fall signals the start of the Rainy Season, months on end of cold, dreary days and almost daily rainfall.

Here in the PNW, I have to say that my favorite season is Spring. Spring brings the promise of the end of the relentless cold and rainy days. As Spring approaches, there are some days of Sunshine (welcome euphoria), and then during Spring and Summer, the climate is like paradise, with days on end of sunshine (and almost no extreme heat or humidity!). 

 When we go for walks, we need sunscreen instead of an umbrella! 

During the Spring season, we put flowers out on our patio. We turn on the fountain that draws some little birdies for drinks and baths. Even though we say we’re not going to do it again this year, we get new bird feeders (on order as we speak) and fill them with sunflower chips. (Birds are the “wildlife” I get to see in my yard out here in the PNW, not to be confused with squirrels and deer and rabbits and groundhogs in our woods in Missouri!) 

So, yeah, come on little goldfinch and house finch and orchard orioles and chickadees…

So, yes, at this place and time in my life, Spring is my favorite season.

The calendar says it’s not Spring yet. But I know it’s coming. So the hope of Spring is already in my mind, and that helps. Being in the mindset of the promise of Spring, for my watercolor subjects, I gravitate to flowers like tulips and daffodils.

“What does the Bible say about Spring? This season is a time of warming weather and nature coming back to life. As flowers bloom and animals are born, we are reminded of the innocence and beauty that exists in this world and that there is new life all around us. As Christians, we are given new life and new mercies every morning. Spring provides a wonderful reminder to us that we should be living a full life and leaving the old dead parts of life behind. There is always hope during the coldest, darkest winters of life. Spring will come and new life will come forth!“ - from BibleStudyTools.com

Song of Solomon 2:11-12

See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. 

Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.

#Spring #EndofRainySeason #daffodils #tulips #sunshine #watercolor #watercolordaffodil #watercolortulip