Harp
Red-hot candy jello, thick turkey gravy and sweet yams with marsh-mellow topping. I wish I had kept track of how many Thanksgivings I attended at 559 Birch Drive. It was always a festive affair with pecan and pumpkin pie to follow along with second helpings of Grandpa Cleo McBride's "jokes". The joke I remember the most was ,"My wife is an absolute angel, she always harps on me". What a tru.e blessing it was during my teenage years to have had the fortuitous fortune of meeting not only my future husband, but my in-laws as well. Ours was a busy family with plenty of kids and my parents were often stretched thin. What a great gift it was to have this second family in my life at such a pivotal juncture. The Budge's came to track meets, vocal performances, concerts, sometimes events my parents did not have time for. When Dave left on his mission, I dated around. I was fairly serious with one fellow and his parents even came to the Miss Idaho pageant. There was a problem with the sound system during my musical number and my boyfriend's parents acted aloof and even a little disappointed when they said, "You should have sung louder!" Following their comments, two figures walked down the aisle and scooped me in a tight embrace. They said "How proud they were of me" and that I had done "just fine". I don't know what it was about that embrace at that moment, but time stopped and mind took a very detailed note of the difference between the two families. Now, years later, I realize the Holy Ghost was letting me know how much I needed the optimism and generosity of this special family in my future.
When my mother was unable to be with me after the birth of my children, Gerald and Ruth dropped everything and came running. When our kids were in the hospital, Gerald and Ruth dropped everything and came running. When we had a dog that was not getting enough attention, Gerald and Ruth adopted it.
During the tumult of having 4 kids with neurological issues, we never once heard, "you should have tried harder". I remember one year when I was just in pieces. I was having a panic attack in front of the washing machine and dear Ruth came over and took both my hands in hers. I do not remember exactly what she said, but it was life-changing. I think it was the love in her eyes that communicated to my heart that "Yes, I could do this" and "yes, she believed in me". I can say without a shadow of a doubt that both my marriage and my family could not have held together without the support of the world's greatest cheerleaders, my in-laws. I do not know if I would have remained as non-judgmental as they have been if our roles had been reversed. In fact, I kinda know I would have been full of advice with a slight sense of misunderstanding if I had been them. God knows what he is doing, though, and put them in my path so I would not give up.
So more than candied jello, or steaming turkey, I remember Ruth and Gerald for their generosity and understanding. Their unwavering faith in me. Their kindness and acceptance of my children and their unconditional love for my husband. Malachi chapter 4 sums it up best, ¶ Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:
6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse . I do not know if our hearts would be as close if we hadn't had to rely on Ruth and Gerald so much. Certainly our lives would have been darker and more cursed. Maybe, this is the kind of love survives the eternities. Don't tell Grandpa McBride, but they have been angels without the harp.
When my mother was unable to be with me after the birth of my children, Gerald and Ruth dropped everything and came running. When our kids were in the hospital, Gerald and Ruth dropped everything and came running. When we had a dog that was not getting enough attention, Gerald and Ruth adopted it.
During the tumult of having 4 kids with neurological issues, we never once heard, "you should have tried harder". I remember one year when I was just in pieces. I was having a panic attack in front of the washing machine and dear Ruth came over and took both my hands in hers. I do not remember exactly what she said, but it was life-changing. I think it was the love in her eyes that communicated to my heart that "Yes, I could do this" and "yes, she believed in me". I can say without a shadow of a doubt that both my marriage and my family could not have held together without the support of the world's greatest cheerleaders, my in-laws. I do not know if I would have remained as non-judgmental as they have been if our roles had been reversed. In fact, I kinda know I would have been full of advice with a slight sense of misunderstanding if I had been them. God knows what he is doing, though, and put them in my path so I would not give up.
So more than candied jello, or steaming turkey, I remember Ruth and Gerald for their generosity and understanding. Their unwavering faith in me. Their kindness and acceptance of my children and their unconditional love for my husband. Malachi chapter 4 sums it up best, ¶ Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:
6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse . I do not know if our hearts would be as close if we hadn't had to rely on Ruth and Gerald so much. Certainly our lives would have been darker and more cursed. Maybe, this is the kind of love survives the eternities. Don't tell Grandpa McBride, but they have been angels without the harp.
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