Slow Recovery

Slow Recovery

After a tornado or a hurricane has struck and there is debris everywhere, with buildings torn to pieces, cars turned upside down, nothing is where or how it was before, nor will it ever be the same again. The recovery is a long, slow process.  So it is when a terrible storm hits within a family, or a person's life.  Although the recovery and healing process is long and slow, it doesn't mean there is no hope.  There is always hope when we put our trust in God. 

My family went through a series of tough challenges one right after the other, when I was eight.  I talked about them in my last blog.  When my family was reunited, life was not the same, nor would it be again. 

Mom was physically and emotionally fragile for months. Several friends were there for her, but some people were like "Job's" friends, and after they left, Mom would be undone. My parents were painfully finding out who were their true friends.
 
One of my mother's friends, knitted the cutest little mittens to cover Loretta's hands when Mom took her out in public, thinking it would be best for everyone. When Mom started to put the mittens on, she heard an audible voice say

"Do not cover her hands.  She is not a handicap."

Mom was so shaken, she stayed home. She never used those mittens. She didn't need to. Loretta showed every one that she is outgoing, friendly, spunky, charming and independent. She taught herself how to do everything the rest of us can do, even play the piano and crochet.

 Being strong believers in God, my parents sought His help continually.  God was rearranging their values and and where they set their priorities.  Dad was insistent in getting out of debt. Material things such as trucks, campers, boats, the latest entertainment equipment was no longer important. Our television went out and we never replaced it. 

Tithing was emphasized, even when we kids earned a little money, we payed our tithes.

Dad and Mom built a new home, paying for it as much as they could, as they built it.  By the time I was eleven years old, my parents were completely debt free.  

During this time, Dad was dissatisfied with his relationship with God and the denomination where both he and Mom had been raised.  In fact, Dad quit going to church for two years, leaving Mom to take us kids by herself.  One November day, Mom attended another ministry with an elderly lady, who had been asking Mom to come with her for months.  Since Dad was working that evening, Mom took Sharla with her, and I babysat the other children.  By this time we had a little brother, Cleon. 

Dad had a week of vacation, in February, so my parents loaded us five kids in the car and we drove to the desert to visit a Christian community for a week.  There had been much discussion about this community from the other members of the new ministry. The houses were simple wooden structures with outhouses behind each one.  There was a dormitory for the students that were attending the school without their parents. 

I had a dream that when we visited this place, we drove to a brown building, knocked on a door and a lady with a white cap on her head, dressed in a white blouse and blue jumper, opened the door.  This is exactly what happened when we got there.  This woman was Aileen, who was to be my mother-in-law. 

We left the denomination where both my parents had been raised since birth, which was another life-altering decision, and got baptized on April 18th into the ministry that we have been involved with for almost 50 years. 

All summer I begged my parents to let me go to school at EskDale.  Finally, she tearfully let me and Sharla leave home and live in the dormitory at EskDale, which is three hours away from home.  I loved it, but I think it was really hard for Sharla.  She was only in the fourth grade.  I was in the 7th grade. 

A year later, Dad received a phone call from the Bishop,  asking if he could move his family to the desert, because they needed a gardener.  So, in the summer when I was 12, almost thirteen, we moved to the desert as a family.  By this time, our family had another little girl, Maureen.  We had five girls and one boy.

We left our beautiful new home and moved to a much smaller home/shack, with no running water and no indoor plumbing.  The nearest bathroom was a half a block away.  Dad installed indoor plumbing as soon as he could. To say that living in the desert was different than our previous environment is a gross understatement.  The wind blew constantly, leaving dust not only settled on everything in the house, but in our teeth, hair, eyes and ears. 

Then there was the huge change in lifestyle.  We were connecting our family with other families.  Learning to share not only meals, work schedules, schools, finances, but also the integral part of building relationships with others.  Learning to trust and love others, believing the best of people and their intentions, and putting their needs above your own.  Needless to say this is a life-long process, but we had begun the journey. 

Looking back, one can see that the Lord was definitely leading and guiding our family.  Was it easy?  No way!  Would we do it again?  Absolutely!  It isn't the material things of earth that make us happy and fulfilled.  It's knowing Who God is, and seeking to be in His presence and following His plan for our lives, where we will find true joy and peace.  This is ultimately what my parents want as an inheritance for their children.  It is the inheritance John and I want for our children and our grandchildren.  That is why I am sharing our stories.