I waver between optimism and pessimism. The down times come
when I listen to vicious political ads and candidates who dodge questions and
never give clear specifics about what they will do as elected officials. Even
when some of the worst events bring on the doldrums, I have good things to
rescue me. What makes me smile and shake my head in amazement are the choices
that some folks have made that have enriched and blessed my life. For these
folks, I’m thankful.
I’m a big
fan of quartet music, and the best of the bunch is the Gaither Vocal Band.
David Phelps is the first tenor who sings with passion and strength. Phelps
isn’t an ordinary gospel singer. He had the opportunity to study music and
become an opera tenor. However, he chose instead to pursue this career in
gospel/Christian music, and by doing so, he reaches many more individuals who
might otherwise never have heard his voice. His choice blesses all of us with a
beautiful song and voice.
My mother
earned a teaching certificate from teachers’ college in Asheville in the 1930’s. However, by the time
she married and brought up three boys, it was no longer valid. For ten years
she went to summer school to earn enough credits to turn her certificate into a
bachelor’s degree in education. I’m lucky that she did. Her teaching wages were
meager, but they helped our family survive after Daddy died when Jim and I were
thirteen, and she provided large chunks of money to help pay for my own college
education so that I wasn’t saddled with crushing debt after graduation. She
also cleared a path that led her sons to the teaching profession.
Ministers
have blessed me over the years. Bob Landry captured my attention when I first
joined the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ. One of the two persons I
consider as my best friends, Doug Meister, shrugged off a job in construction
and became a minister. He and I have spent hours discussing religion, softball,
and family. I’m glad he was around.
Bill Menees influenced me more than any other
minister. He worked for years at Dupont and came late to the ministry. “Brother
Bill” opened my eyes to Christianity and the truths and demands it brings. His
most memorable line was, “Jesus is not the answer. He’s the question.” Chew on
that for a while. Bill also pushed me until I asked Amy Moore out on a date. A
year later, he married us. The man is family.
I met
Catherine Nance when she arrived at Beaver
Ridge United
Methodist Church
and wrote a feature on her for the paper. Instantly, I liked her. A couple of
years later Amy and I tearfully left FCC on Fifth Avenue and began attending BRUMC.
What we discovered is a minister who is a powerful speaker and who leaves her
congregation agape and awed after each sermon. In addition, she presents a
sincere interest and concern for others. Now, Catherine has reared two sons,
and I feel fortunate that she chose to be a minister and to serve at a church
where I can hear her messages.
I am most
thankful for the choices that Amy Alice Moore made. She was a Cookevillian and
a knockout. The girl could have any male she wanted. For some unknown reason,
she chose me. I knew that she was “the one” after our first date and that I
wanted to marry her after the second. Amy could have pursued her goal of
becoming a pharmacist. Instead, she changed majors, married me, and moved to Knoxville. Because of
those decisions, I was changed, blessed, and saved. Two children and a grandson
are also thankful that she opted for this path, and they all acknowledge the
feeling of being blessed.
Too often I
become blue and fret over things. In fact, I can work myself into a gloom and
doom lather. It’s when I take a breath and remember others whose choices have
enriched my life that my mood changes. Thanks to you all.
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