Splendor in the Leaves

The colors of fall are simply splendid here in the mountains of southeast Kentucky. They are more than just seen; they are experienced. Every windy road turns into another colored postcard and every ridge becomes a vista of multi-colored puffs. If the day is clear, the sky is a beautiful blue—bluer than turquoise, clearer than blue topaz. I’ve heard it called simply Kentucky Blue. I didn’t know I liked the combination of blue and orange so well, or blue and yellow. The very best shades of color happen when you get under the leaves and look up through their translucence into the sunlight. I wish I could describe it, or paint it, or capture a photo—but none do the sensation justice. The colors of fall are simply to be experienced.

Mountain Nurse

You would love Marilyn Brock. She's retiring this month after 34 years as the Public Health Nurse here at Red Bird and the years before that in PA, KY, and Sierra Leone. "She's a dandy," the mountain folk say; I say she's the end of an era. Marilyn thought nursing on horseback in the mountains sounded fun so she came to the Frontier Nursing School to study midwifery after getting her RN. Instead of horses, she has made her way around many a winding, steep and uncertain path in Jeeps. I spent a day on the road with her, and sure nuff, we broke down! Her patients love her; she's not only a crackerjack nurse, she's also got the biggest bunch of stories and jokes you ever heard. Marilyn is also a musician and we play four-hand piano every week in chapel, sometimes sing together, and my affection for her caused me to humiliate myself in front everybody singing a song I wrote for her and playing my own autoharp. We have great fun together. I was there when one of her patients, Miss Addie, broke out singing "Walk Around Me Jesus." --And he did. Marilyn is a walking example of a lifetime of love poured out for others. We wish her godspeed.

The Beverly U M Church

The Beverly United Methodist Church is one of the most beautiful and quaint churches you will ever see. It looks like a postcard--nestled in the mountains with a babbling creek running along side. Wild flowers bloom & the sound of water is ever present. Inside, it's chestnut paneling gleams in soft light and a stained glass window graces the front. This is a peaceful, sacred place.

My old Kentucky home

Here are a few photos around our house. You can see that we are surrounded by mountains & much green vegetation. Our front door looks toward several houses and our back door faces a square of grass surrounded by apartments. Teachers & other staff live in these smaller places. We are fortunate to have a single home: 1,300 sq. feet with a single garage.

Saying goodbye

Saying goodbye

Saying goodbye to family was so hard. We had said goodbye to Alec, Layne, and Jessa earlier. We had said goodbye to Madalynne and Morgan (and their mom and dad) when we left them in Michigan the first of July. And that meant that we still had Gracie & Noah, with their parents to bid farewell. The Sunday before we left, the church had a potluck after church in order to fellowship and say goodbye. Actually the women of my Bible study organized it, and it was wonderful, right down to the tables with linen and lovely centerpieces. There was a short time for remembrances after the meal and it was a lot of fun. We love the people at First Church; they have been our spiritual family for many years and we have grown & served & lived out our faith together in the uniqueness that only comes with being part of a church. Elaine sang a song for us: Make My Life an Alleluia--and I cried through most of it. And this was the day that our dearest friends would lay their hands on us and pray us into our future; “laying on of hands,” as we call it, always has a powerful effect on me.
But our last day at church was the day we were leaving. I’d not slept, we had a long drive ahead of us, & I was dreading the goodbyes. Then, too, I’d planned to speak & sing in a quartet, & knew that Rachelle had planned a special song. The speaking went well, singing the offertory went well, but then Rachelle & Brian sang a goodbye--one of my favorites: “Be At Rest.” Taken from the songs of David, this wonderful Steve Green version of Psalm 116: 7-8 says this: “Be at rest, be at rest once more, oh my soul, for the Lord has been good. For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and You, O Lord have delivered my feet from stumbling. Be at rest, be at rest once more. O my soul, for the Lord has been good to You.” And then Rachelle went out the back door of the sanctuary and I heard her sobbing out loud. I remember standing up when it wasn’t the time to stand, and just stumbled out after her. It was so very hard to hug her and Jeremie and little Gracie and Noah goodbye. I miss our children and grandchildren terribly. This is the borne cross. But the words are true and my soul is at rest; Rachelle knew it was just the right song to sing.