Army Ranger Bob came over with a special package. He had a complete Meals Ready To Eat (MRE - also called Meals Rejected by Ethiopians). His friend at work got one, so he decided to demonstrate its use and share some Ranger stories.
Sassy demanded her usual round of treats - Milkebone first, then a few training treats, then some cinnamon crackers. Normally she tells off Bob for not feeding her enough and various other deficiencies. She also looks at him with her loving eyes and allows him to give her a tummy rub. Her end game is to stretch on the floor and listen to his stories.
This demonstration, complete with many stories about Army training, had a special meaning. Bob said as he was leaving, "I drove Mike's body to his grave, one year ago, today." He was feeling the loss all over.
He left home at 16 to give his mother one less mouth to feed and Army money to help her along. Since we moved here and got to know Bob, he lost his mother, his Army Ranger step-dad, and his brother. Mike was almost helpless at birth, but his family helped him become an able-bodied man who could work and earn a living of sorts. Mike was retarded but he could offer observations that were on target, very wise and considerate. He called Chris "Mama" and loved to talk to her. He believed in Jesus.
Mike and Bob did all the nursing care for their bed-ridden mother and step-dad, never sorry they had to do all that work. They were glad to, and certainly were models for others to follow. They loved the poverty food their mother fixed them, like wieners and beans with cornbread.
Our congregation helped pay for the funeral and burial. Bob found he could haul the casket himself (Arkansas law) and dig the grave down in their hometown cemetery - so he did.
He said, smiling recently, "There is one verse I really like from the Bible."
Hebrews 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
He lives it, himself.
