GROWING UP . . .

by Danna Shirley

Writing assignment

Pa looked pretty forlorn as we rambled down the dirt road to the bus stop. I was the oldest of three brothers and he needed me to stay and work the farm with him but I just couldn’t. I’d been telling him when I turned eighteen I would be oughta there and leave the farming with him and my brothers. It was just not for me! The drought, the flood, the bugs eating the crops, the sun burning up the plants, the dust and broken down farm equipment. I didn’t want to even start a life like that. I knew I was disappointing him but I was also excited to head down the road to Central Community College and plot my own course for life. I was pretty smart and I would make it.

Now we were sitting on the tailgate of the pickup truck, Shep’s head on my knee on one side and Pa wrestling with his hat on the other. We never had the man-to-man talk before and I’m sure Pa was thinkin’ about it. It would be awkward, though, for both of us. I already knew the facts of life; I’d been raised on a farm watching and birthing everything under the sun. I watched Ma and Pa, too, but they never even touched in front of us boys; never kissed. I guess that was only for after the lights went out.

Now I was waiting on the bus and the only thing I could take with me was a suitcase and all I had learned from Ma and Pa; love from family, a good work ethic, loyalty from a faithful dog, and God to guide me and keep me safe. 

It would be an excellent adventure.

HERE, BETWEEN THE SHELVES

The following is an assignment to write a story using the sentence: "Here, between the shelves."

I saw a glimmer on the bottom shelf of the bookcase. It was strange to see something shiny while everything else was covered in dust. I scooted a book of Tarzan to the right and was surprised to find a band showcasing seven round diamonds lying there. It sparkled from every angle and written inside were the words, Jane~We’re a Perfect Fit~Love, Tom and then almost unseen was the date, 1968. How did this ring find its way here, between the shelves, in this dusty basement? Who was Jane . . . and who was Tom . . . and how old were they in 1968? I had inherited the house and all its contents from Great Aunt Edith, but this ring was from Tom to a Jane. Who were they?

I knew of Great Aunt Edith from my Aunt Tabby, Mom’s sister, but now they were all gone and it seemed I was the last living relative to inherit. I didn’t particularly want to leave my home in California to go to a small town in South Alabama but my curiosity had gotten the best of me so here I was. Why I had started in the basement I’ll never know but I put the ring in my pocket and continued perusing my new-found possessions. The basement also contained a wine cellar, an old trunk, a chifferobe with what looked like clothes from the 1920s and 30s and two pairs of high-button shoes. Wow, I could dress to the nines for any costume party now.

I found many more delightful surprises upstairs. There was an antique table and chairs on an oriental rug in the formal dining room. China, silver, and crystal were in the matching hutch with a tea cart and a silver tea service beside it. 

While going through some old magazines for recycle, I found a newspaper clipping in an album hidden in the stack. It was the wedding announcement of Tom Blake to Jane Leslie, December 19, 1968. They had gotten married in Reno but would be making their home in Mississippi while Tom attended Ole Miss. Now the ‘who’ and the ‘where’ were solved but what about the why? Why would her wedding ring be left on a dusty shelf in the basement of this old house in Alabama?

It was getting late and I chose one of the upstairs bedrooms to collapse and sleep. It had been a long day and I only had a week off from work to settle this estate and return to California.

The next morning I took my time going through the kitchen. I searched the shelves, pantry, drawers, and cabinets, but there was nothing unusual there to identify Tom and Jane. I got down to the business of deciding what I would keep and what I would sell, however, I knew I would keep the diamond ring. Besides the china, silver, etc. there were some beautiful paintings, jewelry, and a BMW in the garage. Those were definitely keepers.

The rest, the dishes, pots and pans, toilet paper and Cheerios, could go by the wayside with the estate sale liquidator. As for me, I would be investigating the mystery of Tom and Jane. I began with the stack of magazines where I found the album. The top were addressed to Aunt Edith but as I moved lower and lower through the stack, I found the rest addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Tom Blake. The top address was in Alabama 1983 but those prior were New Jersey 1980, Washington 1975, Bermuda 1972, and the earliest address was in Oxford, Mississippi at Ole Miss 1968. Interspersed among them were Ladies Home Journal, Time, and Woman’s Day; then Parents Magazine and children’s Highlights began to appear. Okay, Tom and Jane had children. Hopefully one was a boy who still lived here.

            I got online and looked up ‘Blake’ at this address but as I clicked on several ‘Blakes’ here in town, related people began to appear. I would not be deterred. Finally the name Jane came up under James and Victoria Blake. I called their number and asked to speak to Jane.

            “This is Jane speaking. May I help you?”

            “Yes, are you the Jane Blake that used to live at 885 Fourth Avenue?”

            “Why, yes, but I haven’t lived there in a long time. Not since my husband died.”

            “Did you happen to lose something very valuable and sentimental in the basement of that old house?”

            “Yes, yes,” she said very excitedly. “I lost my wedding ring. We couldn’t afford another so Tom just bought me a plain gold band.”

            “Well, I found it, here, between the shelves of an old bookcase. Can I bring it to you?”

            “Yes, yes, please do come over!” 

            Fifteen minutes later I was knocking on her door. She opened it with tears in her eyes and hugged my neck. I slipped it on her finger and it still fit. It did my heart good to see the happiness on her face. There was happiness on my face, too. I was a blessing and I received a blessing . . . and, after all, I still had the BMW in the garage at home. 

WHAT IF . . .

Danna Shirley

This phrase conjures up so many scenarios that it is difficult to even calculate the results. My “what if” thoughts tend toward my life with my husband, Ron.

What if his ship hadn’t come into port in San Pablo, California where I lived in 1968? He was there for just three short months before going to Viet Nam for the third time but it was long enough for us to meet, get engaged, and marry upon his return.  

What if there had not been that fateful meeting that took me away from my family and everything I knew in California and sent me to a place and culture I didn’t know in Montgomery, Alabama. This was just the beginning of Navy life living in three countries and seven states over the course of our thirty-four years together.

What if Ron’s separation from the Navy hadn’t led us to his employment with Alabama Power in Demopolis and eventually to his decision to pursue continuing education which brought us back to Montgomery?

What if our short time there hadn’t brought us to attend First Assembly of God Church before moving on to our next destination?

What if our hearts hadn’t been ripe for harvest to bring us both to His saving grace and our salvation through the testimony of Betty Baxter?

(Note: It is important to understand we had lived in Montgomery several different times and had the opportunity to attend this church previously but in God’s grand scheme of things “our hearts weren’t ripe for harvest” until May, 1980.

What if Betty Baxter hadn’t been healed from a crippling and debilitating condition that led her to serve God and give her testimony the rest of her life? Her faithfulness to God brought her to speak at First Assembly of God Church, which brought us to our salvation?

This is not to say we each wouldn’t find God another way by His leading but would I have this family . . . my family now? 

We were just two people out of billions and billions over time in whom God orchestrated down the long path of life to dwell in our present place in His kingdom.      

Here’s another exciting chain of events to follow…

http://www.travisagnew.org/2013/07/22/the-chain-of-events-for-billy-grahams-conversion/

What if a young teacher named Edward Kimball hadn’t taken a Saturday and sought to help a young man understand what the gospel was all about? He went to the shoe store where he was stocking shelves and led Dwight L. Moody to receive the Lord. 

What if this young man hadn’t received salvation in the stockroom of that shoe store? D. L. Moody wouldn’t have touched two continents for God, with untold thousands coming to faith in Jesus Christ.

What if another man’s heart was not touched by God under Moody’s preaching? Wilbur Chapman was an evangelist who preached to thousands. One day, a professional ball player had a day off and attended one of Chapman’s meetings, and thus, Billy Sunday was converted.

What if this baseball player, Billy Sunday, hadn't quit baseball and become part of Chapman's team. When Chapman accepted the pastorate of a large church, Billy Sunday began his own evangelistic crusades. A young man named Mordecai Ham attended one of these crusades and was converted. 

What if this scholarly and dignified gentleman, Mordecai Ham, had decided he wouldn’t go listen to an ex-baseball player? Then he wouldn’t have come to Charlotte, NC to preach against a house of ill repute located right across from the local high school. Some male students were going to interrupt the meetings and a young man named Billy Frank Graham decided to see what would happen.

What if the most famous evangelist of our day, Billy Graham, hadn’t been curious to attend the meeting of Mordecai Ham? He wouldn’t have given his heart to Jesus in 1934 and as a result, travel the world and preach the gospel to approximately 2.2 billion people.

As the old saying goes, 

"You can count the apples on a tree,

but only God knows how many apples are in a single seed.”

We cannot possibly know how many lives have been converted by Billy Graham or how many more seeds have come to fruition through him and Ham, and Sunday, and Chapman, and Moody, and Kimball, or even you and me.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves;

it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.

which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Eph 2:8-10)

          All we can do is be faithful with our part in and for the Kingdom and trust God for the results.