Friday, October 21, 2016

Day 21: Remember as we Listen Part 2


The tractor struggled up the hill,
and the farmer tried desperately to
maintain control,
but the front end shook and rocked,
and before he knew it,
he was pinned under the seat of an
upside-down deadweight of a machine.


 His cries for help were heard by the 
farmwife,
who gathered up their young infant son,
and placed him in the backseat of their 
1940's car, and ran to see
how she could help her farmer.

All the while, she was crying out to her God,
with no one else to help,
how could she possibly move that heavy tractor
away from the leg of her farmer,
broken and bleeding under the steel. 


  With a burst of strength beyond herself,
she lifted the tractor
far enough
for the farmer to inch his way out.
But then, the leather shoestrings were caught in the wheels.
Again, her strength surged within her
as she broke that last bit of bondage
away from her farmer's foot.


 She drove her farmer to the hospital,
and he recovered from that breaking,
to tell the story
again and again,
how his farmwife
rescued him from the grip of that old tractor.


 But she knew the truth:
it was not her rescuing at all--
God had given the strength
and God would be praised in her telling
of the story
how her farmer was
rescued from the grip of that monster.


------


The farmwife was my Mom, and I grew into the telling of that story just as I grew into my own life stories. 
My Mom loved to tell her stories.
It became a joke between my siblings and I, that 
we could tell HER stories
better than we could tell our own.


But she understood the meaning of these verses:


Psalm 78:1-4 (NIV) My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old— things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.


And  she made sure that we listened so that we would 
know the praiseworthy deeds of our Lord.


My Mom is no longer with us, she is with her 
Farmer enjoying their Lord together in Heaven.
So, now the telling is left to me.


I am the Grandma with stories to share.
And the littles gathered in my lap--
will they hear the praiseworthy deeds of our Lord?


(Visiting a farm with my Grandson, in 2014, and carrying on the story-telling.)
  

If we listen to the words of our Lord,
He has a story for us to share.
A new generation is waiting to hear from us the
ways that our God rescued us
from the grip of sin's chains
and set us free to find HIS life.




Today is Day 21 of the #Write31Days Challenge.

If you have missed any of the posts for this 
#31Days of Listening with Chronic Illness,
and would like to catch up

click here for the Series Index 

Thank you to all who have been praying for me with this latest round of testing. The Nurse called as I finished this post with
the WONDERFUL NEWS that
both biopsies are benign!
I am rejoicing in God's Good Story for me today!

7 comments:

  1. Bettie, what a fantastic story. Thank you for sharing stories. I love stories.

    My blog:
    https://awifesreflections.wordpress.com/write-31-days

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kimberly, Thanks for stopping by! Yes, God's stories that He works in our lives are the best, aren't they? Looking forward to getting to "know" you through our writing group! --Blessings!

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  2. What a beautiful story, Bettie! It's made extra special by being a true part of your family's history. I couldn't help but think of today's good news celebration becoming a future anecdote to share with your grandchildren, another true account of God's manifest goodness and grace. So happy for you, dear friend! What a relief all round. Blessings, hugs and love to you! xox

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Joy, Oh, Yes, what a relief and blessing from the Lord! Thank you for sharing in this praise with me, as your prayers and encouragement have been so important! What a privilege we do have to be able to pass along these treasures to our children and grandchildren. May you have a Blessed Weekend! --Hugs and Love to you!

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  3. First PTL for the good medical reports!
    This story took me back to highschool. My brother rolled a tractor on himself also. It was winter and the path he was driving was next to a culvert where the cattle go under the road. The tractor slid off the path and rolled into the Culver on top of of him. The Lord's protection came from the foot of snow and probably my brother's small size. He was able to work his way out from under the machine unharmed.

    ReplyDelete
  4. First PTL for the good medical reports!
    This story took me back to highschool. My brother rolled a tractor on himself also. It was winter and the path he was driving was next to a culvert where the cattle go under the road. The tractor slid off the path and rolled into the Culver on top of of him. The Lord's protection came from the foot of snow and probably my brother's small size. He was able to work his way out from under the machine unharmed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, God is so good to us! What a wonderful story of His protection over your brother. I think a lot of people don't realize how dangerous that farming life can be, right? I have so enjoyed reading your posts about growing up on the farm! --Blessings to you!

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