Father's Day Reminiscences

 

June 18, 2006

Father's Day

After worship at Chalcedon Presbyterian Church,  we gathered at Pine Lark for a Sunday lunch of boiled shrimp with Louis sauce followed by listening to a CD of spirituals in the living room.

Fun things to remember about WDJ  a la five senses:

Touch:  steady hands coupled with practiced technical skills to perform delicate operations on small human anatomy (arteries)....... and remove splinters from children's fingers and toes

Sight:  green eyes that were observant - dont ever think he wasn't paying attention ~

Hearing:  loved singing/listening to music like spirituals and Handel's Messiah  

Taste:  keen taste buds that allowed him to detect specific flavors in our cooked dishes and he always ate whatever I prepared.

Smell:  distinctly shaped nose that loved the scent of gardenias, and hence, his wife's perfume (White Shoulders);  on his 80th birthday I gave him a new supply white cotton handkerchiefs - 80 of them!

On this day in 2023, I re-listened to his 1987 lecture on organ transplantation and brain death.  It was nice to hear his voice and be reminded of his astute reasoning skills.

Mother's Day

This year is my second for *firsts*.   In 2021, my father died.  Then 21 months later, in 2022, my mother died. 

And so, that just means that I am experiencing once again those *firsts* without one or the other. 

It's just my turn to suffer  loss. 

I am thankful for the loyalty and support of my nuclear family and special friends.

I am blessed to have had both of my parents for such a long time in my short life.... to get to know them as an adult as well as an *older* adult is indeed special.

In memory of my recently deceased mother, this year for Mother's Day I made a donation to Frontlineresponse.org  This particular organization has a strong presence in my city/state well-known for attracting crowds for special sporting events and conventions.

To show my heart for someone I dont believe I have to have "walked a mile in her/his shoes" (moccasins*).  I am willing to be judged by the standard of Holy Scripture and strive to be a good steward ("put my money where my mouth is.")  Support for those in crisis pregnancy has long been dear to my heart and now I add support to the rescue of those ensnared in se*-trafficking.

In the past in memory of my father I made donations to topics dear to his heart:  pro-life ministries (GRTL) and private practice/education of medicine/surgery (AAPS & GA Vascular Foundation)

PS - Red Tulips on Moma's yet-to-be-marked grave are representative of her battle with Parkinson's.

PPS Family group photo taken 4/21/13 - ten years ago ... on my 55th birthday celebrated after church with dinner at the Canoe restaurant in Vinings, GA on the banks of the Chattahoochee River where I grew up.

* reference to popular poem by M Lathrap

Judge Softly

 

“Pray, don’t find fault with the man that limps,
Or stumbles along the road.
Unless you have worn the moccasins he wears,
Or stumbled beneath the same load.

There may be tears in his soles that hurt
Though hidden away from view.
The burden he bears placed on your back
May cause you to stumble and fall, too.

Don’t sneer at the man who is down today
Unless you have felt the same blow
That caused his fall or felt the shame
That only the fallen know.

You may be strong, but still the blows
That were his, unknown to you in the same way,
May cause you to stagger and fall, too.

Don’t be too harsh with the man that sins.
Or pelt him with words, or stone, or disdain.
Unless you are sure you have no sins of your own,
And it’s only wisdom and love that your heart contains.

For you know if the tempter’s voice
Should whisper as soft to you,
As it did to him when he went astray,
It might cause you to falter, too.

Just walk a mile in his moccasins
Before you abuse, criticize and accuse.
If just for one hour, you could find a way
To see through his eyes, instead of your own muse.

I believe you’d be surprised to see
That you’ve been blind and narrow-minded, even unkind.
There are people on reservations and in the ghettos
Who have so little hope, and too much worry on their minds.

Brother, there but for the grace of God go you and I.
Just for a moment, slip into his mind and traditions
And see the world through his spirit and eyes
Before you cast a stone or falsely judge his conditions.

Remember to walk a mile in his moccasins
And remember the lessons of humanity taught to you by your elders.
We will be known forever by the tracks we leave
In other people’s lives, our kindnesses and generosity.

Take the time to walk a mile in his moccasins.”

~ by Mary T. Lathrap, 1895

2023 WORD OF THE YEAR

STEWARD

I am but a steward of the manifold grace of God ~ 

Matthew Henry's commentary on     Luke 16

An etching by Jan Luyken illustrating Luke 16:1-9 in the Bowyer Bible, Bolton, England.

Phillip Medhurst - Photo by Harry Kossuth

S = SINNER - 1 JOHN 1:8 - If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

S = SAVIOR - LUKE 2:11 - For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

T = TREACHERY - Ezekiel 18:24b - None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.

T = TRUTH - Ephesians 4:25 - Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

       

E = EVERLASTING PUNISHMENT - Revelation 20:10 - and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and forever.

E = ETERNAL LIFE - JOHN 17:3 - And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

W = WICKEDNESS - Luke 11:39 - And the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness."

W = WISDOM - Luke 21:15 - for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.

A = APATHY - Rev 3:15-16 - I know your works:  you are neither cold not hot.  Would that you were either cold or hot.  So, because you are lukewarm (apathetic), and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

A = ABUNDANCE - Rom 5:17 - For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

R = REBUKE - Psalm 119:21 - You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones who wander from your commandments.

R = REWARD - Psalm 19:11 - Moreover, by them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward

D = DECEIVER - 2 John 7 - For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh.   Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.

D = DISCIPLE - John 13:35 - By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

PARABLE OF THE UNRIGHTEOUS STEWARD

Luke 16: 1-18

Remembering WDJ

Two years have passed since Daddy died.  There are white flowers on his marker (on the right) and a mixed floral bouquet on my maternal grandparent's companion marker (on the left).   My mother's new grave is in the middle.

Besides reading Scripture there are a couple of books/devotionals that have informed my grief and I recommend them.

The first is Every Moment Holy, Vol 2   published by Rabbit Room Press.  When I could not find words to pray, this collection supplied them.  The liturgies have been such balm for my soul that I go back to them often.  Plus I bought a dozen copies to give as gifts.

Second is Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon.   Never too simple and always applicable these short essays were read aloud round around the dinner table with my parents, and then just with me and Moma.   Spurgeon is a longtime favorite, but I had always only read the entries for the mornings.  Reading the Evening Entries was a blessing that helped me stay focused.

Third is hearing a series of sermons on heaven preached by Anthony Curto.  It is real.  Here is a link to the first one delivered at our church on 27 December 2020.

Fourth, advice for assuaging grief.  Do something today that you enjoyed doing with the deceased.  In my case, it was going to a shop frequented by my mother and me and taking care of a lamp in need of attention/repair.

Remembering Gustie

Gusta Amanda Daniel Jordan 

Picture of a picture, unedited ~

Taken 27 December 1955,

at the wedding reception of 

her son, my father ~

died this day

4 March 1959,

when I was only 11 months old

and she was but 62 years young.

Read below her obituary

Remembering AOL

My maternal grandfather died on February 26, 1960, and was buried a couple of days later at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs, GA. Since we have recently buried there both his daughter, my mother, and his son-in-law, my father, I thought it was interesting to note the landscape of their section of the cemetery and how the trees have grown.

 

Lots of flowers for this man who died young, age 58

Photo below taken December 7, 2022