Early in Springdale, because I was teaching at the community college - within walking distance - we met Dottie and Howard, who began helping us inside and outside. We got to know the extended family and enjoyed their company and in many areas, such as fashioning gardening areas, butterfly patches, exotic weeds.
When their daughter wanted to have a wedding on Christmas Day, I said, "OK but everything is closed." They found a place where they have the wedding but it was either going to be very rainy or very cold. Charlie Sue and I got ready for about 20 people arriving.
Charlie is a hunting dog, and she often takes the stance of total quiet, ready to pounce. She heard the vehicles and stopped, raised her front right leg, and stood still. I said, "Charlie, these are friends."
They poured in and Charlie made a bee-line for Dottie. The children enjoyed her too.
I keep my pastoral book in one place and I went to get it, because of the Marriage Ceremony and page ID for the county - all the Js are on one page. Out dropped the thank-you from the previous marriage I performed, 2086 miles away. I read it over again. Everything this week has been a special reminder of the connections we have through Christ Jesus our Lord. They trigger important memories, so it is just as hard to write this as it is for some to read. I have to stop when the screen gets so wavy.
