The View from Rockriver Hill

Our passage in Sunday School this week involved Joshua reminding the Israelites to remember of all the things the Lord had done for them to.  The Lord has been faithful to my family, too.    Remember  I remember.   How you saved the life of Ruth Bennett’s baby boy Who one day became my daddy And a servant of Your gospel.   How you saved Juanita Blackwell’s body from the flames And used a catholic priest visiting the hospital To save her soul.   How you brought Ruth’s son and Juanita’s daughter together To form a family Dedicated to you.   How you’ve sent their children Throughout Kern County Throughout California Throughout the country Throughout the world In service of Your gospel.   How you answered my prayer for a husband who loved you And his prayer for the wife You wanted him to have.   How you sent me to this wild and rustic place And gave me the courage, strength, and fort...

    We were a family.       Dad, Mom, Sister, Brother, Me.     One dog, some rodents.     We lived in a house That smelled like cowboy cookies And aging hamster.   Played hide and go seek Ate dinner around table Dug holes in back yard   Made purple plum jam Walked to school, roller skated. Mom read Narnia.   Dad preached and sang deep. We were the pastor’s family. Family camp every year.     Why was it urgent That we start our own families? Multiply we must.   Multiply we did. And I would not trade my kids For those days again. We are still family. Three siblings and their spouses 10 grand grandchildren.   But sometimes I miss Dad, Mom, Sister, Brother, Me. All under one roof.