I'm just a little "reflective" this day. Just returned from conducting a funeral for the 78 year old father of one of our members. He was born May 12, 1930, to two orphans who never had a home...until they found each other. They worked as "share croppers" growing up and raised six children following the crops in Arkansas. The man buried today was the oldest child.

He worked the cotton fields from the time he was four, dragging the toe sack and trying to pick his 50 pounds of cotton each day. Mother would get her quota as quick as possible so she could help pack the bags of her little children.

Oh God.

He became the first eagle scout in his county in Arkansas as a teen, going on to work his way into college, then off to Korea with the United States Army during that dread conflict. While there the announcement came that our congress approved the GI Bill to assist veterans go to college to get an education. His reaction, literal cheers and jubilation as he announced to his fellow soldiers, "I'm going to get to go finish college and become a mechanical engineer!"..which he did. Ultimately he became the manager of one of the world's largest and most respected aluminum manufacturing plants in the world until his retirement.

I stood with his extended family today at the grave side. It was as though the precious Spirit of God brought these words to my mind from Psalm 27:10, "When your father and mother forsake you...the Lord will take you up."

In my heart I could almost see God taking that little baby orphaned boy and orphaned girl up into his personal care around 1900, then giving them a son on May 12, 1930. God gave that son a wonderful wife and wonderful children. Those parents taught the boy how to labor, hope, and excel...through whatever difficulties...he learned to excel...he learned to be a man.

Rest assured that those same qualities were passed on to the children in those sweaty, hot, cotton fields...that were themselves never theirs...but the family spirit was theirs.

Now the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren are Doctors, Engineers, Teachers, Professional Baseball players...you get the idea...each and every one.

It was an honor to stand with the family, a generational wonder of God's grace extended to a couple of tiny orphans...who strove valiantly...under God's guiding wing.

XtnYoda, shalomed aka chuck