36. There Is More Than What You're Seeing Here

For Martha and I, this will be a short week – at least at work. Yesterday was Memorial Day and all the family went to the early morning service at a bridge across from our house; it was the first time I'd seen the ashes of completely burnt American flags cast into the river. Then we went to pancakes and sausage breakfast at the local American Legion hall (Martha's dad is a Navy veteran, 1966-69) and soon after arrived at Rosehill Cemetery where the formal program was held. Our keynote speaker was Clinton Romesha who'd received the Medal of Honor last year from his actions in Afghanistan and now lives in North Dakota. Then homemade chili at the local VFW hall, then home for the day where we all tried to relax and actually got the main level of our house clean – or at least cleaner as we filled six garbage bags to be taken out today as well as so much for donations to Goodwill and the Adult Literacy Center book sale. There is so freaking much I have I don't read or reread. Seneca would not be proud of me.

Saturday, besides my interview for a second part-time job (most likely on weekends) through our Minot-born area supermarket Marketplace with five locations now, I took the opportunity to stop by a rummage sale at United Congregational Church of Christ. I picked up a balloon shaped like the Space Shuttle and was considering taking it home for Sarah and Jeffrey, but a couple came in behind me with their little boy about Jeffrey's age (I say “little”, yeah right) and he said he loves spaceships! I asked him, since I hadn't paid for it yet, if HE wanted it and he said yes. I later heard him remark his little brother would love it too, and that made me smile. So did getting through Reuben Post Halleck and Juliette Frantz's Makers of Our Nation, a 1930 American history text that I really enjoyed. And from the exercises at the end of each chapter, you'd think staging plays was far more important in school then than now. Combining story and activity, it's a great book for your shelf!

A few hours after I got home from the rummage sale and interview, I brought Jeffrey to a birthday party at Planet Pizza for his friend Cade who'll be leaving in a few days (if he hasn't already, I don't remember what his mom told me) for a place in Texas most likely on the Gulf of Mexico where he, his sister, and his mom will be starting anew to get out of the snow in winter. Guys, the snow and cold is not that bad in North Dakota, really; you just have to adapt like I did from Florida mugginess and humidity and enclosed spaces! With seven days of school left before summer after school today, you can understand Sarah and Jeffrey are kinda jumping at the bit. But we can't let them outside too much for it is hot and muggy, it's as though spring was just a week or two! I was touched last night, though, by one thing Jeffrey took the initiative in. Jeffrey picked up the SPARK Story Bible he received at church before and started to read from the beginning.

In this case, it was the story of Creation. And he did a great job on it, and he even read the activity at the end – to go out and thank God for some aspect of His creation. THEN he proceeded to go do it, and asked me to follow him. Jeffrey and I have been bonding a lot this weekend with hugs and snuggles – I really needed that, especially as Sarah's been repeatedly on strong-willed mode. So the four of us came to our backyard, stood in separate corners, and each offered up a prayer or thanks; the guys spoke and the girls prayed silently. I can go with that. And the thing is it all started with Jeffrey's question, “Does everyone die?” I answered him no, for I knew of two cases in Scripture (Enoch in Genesis and Elijah in Second Kings) and pointed them out, reading from my Bible. And I told him that you and I don't have to die – in the sense of our physical existence ending and that's it – when we take Jesus as our Savior and Lord. He (and she) who believes in Him shall never die.

And that's a promise, David