Grace & Peace - B

B denotes a book entry after the blog.

Yesterday I was honored to sub for Pastor Mike's Bible Study. We began a study of 1 Thessalonians, and we talked of "GRACE AND PEACE," so huge a deal that it is found in 17 of the 27 New Testament books. We also discussed "Election," - not the political one, but the spiritual one, the God's prerogative one - and how that fits with the free agency (will) of man and the absolute love and equity of God. All these concepts are found in scripture, and all are true... but that isn't today's topic.

Last night we went to "back yard" at the Vine and Mike, teaching from Philippians, spoke on "GRACE AND PEACE." God put that one together because neither of us talked of coordinating our topics at all! Obviously, our Lord wanted us to dig deeper into those words, seek all they imply and apply them to our lives and dealings with all others, not just those we "accept." 

Then last night, I received a phone call from my precious friend Carol. We were able, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to come to some terms and truths for saying "no" to someone while genuinely extending to them "GRACE AND PEACE." 

The lesson hits home for me. I have received unmerited favor and enjoy a peace surpassing understanding (although now and then, I walk out of it into worry) and my part must be to extend grace and peace to others. What a daunting yet infinitely rewarding task! 

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"GRACE AND PEACE."

Mama must have had a better than average grip on Paul's biblical salutation of "grace and peace." Within a 24 hour period, her life was transformed from the serenity of pampered solitude wherein one each day was much like the next, to a chaotic existence in which she might be awakened at any hour and whisked off to some unknown place or immersed in adventures beyond her previous imaginings. 

Her wedding day held the first of many unexpected and somewhat disturbing surprises. Daddy had made no arrangements for post-nuptial accommodations, not even an evening meal, so he took his new bride to his sister's house which had barely enough food and room for the occupants. 

"Edgar, you didn't!" exclaimed Ethel, her eyes wide with shock at hearing the news of his wedding, especially to this well dressed lady on his arm, a thin, wan woman who looked scared to death. She certainly didn't look like his type. Anita had been bold and spicy, not to mention her flashy taste in clothes, booze and parties. 

"Come in out of the storm," Ethel gently removed Mama's arm and led her inside, leaving Daddy standing on the porch. He closed the door behind them and stayed outside long enough to get well snow covered, then banged loudly and rapidly on the weathered door, feigning anger.

Mama jerked her head and stared anxiously at the door wondering if she had married a violent man and trembling with anxiety at her precarious situation. 

Ethel made no move to answer the door and the insistent hammering was now accompanied by a string of booming expletives. "He'll come in when he gets cold enough," Ethel grinned and winked at Mama.

Mama, her lips in a thin, white line, didn't wink back. She sat ramrod straight on the worn sofa and forced her gaze away from the door. A homey handmade quilt draped over a wooden rocker became her focus as she tried to quell the tremor in her tummy. Not fluttering butterflies as the old saying went. No. Her tummy felt full of bats beating their fearsome wings at a frantic pace, threatening to destroy her. Dread wove a dark tapestry of worry through her soul, and her brow glistened with a cold film of perspiration.

Wham! The door burst open as if it had been rammed in by a police raid. "Ahah! Just as I thought," shouted the snow clad specter stomping in and looming over them accusingly. 

By now Thelma was light-headed with fear, almost to the point of tears.

Then Daddy roared with laughter and yelled, "Hey Jess, the %$*&*# women are in here plotting against us!" More uproarious guffaws. "You better come see my new old lady. She's got real class." And, more softly to Ethel, "What's for supper, Sis? And where do you want us to sleep?"

"Now, stop right there, Ed. You take your bride to a nice restaurant, the best you can buy, and you get your own place. This is no place to be on your wedding day."

Ethel continued to scold Edgar and he was arguing just for the fun of it all. Thelma tried to turn her mind in other directions. She willed the tears welling in her eyes not to fall, but they slipped over their tiny eyelid dams and rolled unhampered down her cheeks, following the jaw line to the point of her delicate chin where they dripped ever more rapidly onto the tightly folded hands in her lap. 

No one noticed. 

They had left the room and were all in the kitchen where the discussion began to grow heated, the argument no longer for sport. Thelma tried not to listen but she was sure that even people in the next block could hear. Her new husband pointed out he had no job and no money and had been sleeping in his car and hanging out in pool rooms to stay warm. He said he daily made friends with folks who would buy him lunch or dinner. But now he had a wife who didn't work like Anita had, so he needed some help, if not for him, at least for the sweet and refined lady on the sofa.

The answer was still no.

He must have spent his last dime on the movie and the wedding, thought Mama. She prayed, "Lord, deliver me! I have made a vow before You to cleave to this man no matter what, and this is the worst "what" I can imagine. I have married a wild bull of a man more frightening than my father! He is my husband, but I don't know him, and I am afraid - of him. I don't know how to be a wife to him, to anyone, so teach me, Lord. Grant me the grace to just love him as he is and win him to You with a gentle, quiet spirit. Help me not to complain but instead give me strength like never before. I won't try to change him, but You can! Please, oh please do!!!"

The fracas in the kitchen grew more intense, but Mama felt a whispering of peace and now found her mind wandering back over the memories of Daddy's intimate letters, his tenderness to her all through this day, the almost reverent way he treated her, like something very priceless, irreplaceable. She began to sense the slightest vapor of faith that he would shelter her always, but perhaps not in conventional ways.  

The bats in her tummy turned to harmless butterflies. She unknotted her soaked fingers and wiped her chin of tears, then, unbelievably, Mama looked toward the kitchen and smiled. It was a barely discernible upward turning of the lips, very timid, nonetheless a smile after all. Grace and peace enough for this moment.

Two hours later, the newlyweds were back in Daddy's black Buick, well fed on pinto beans, biscuits and bread pudding. The snow had stopped and the temperature had dropped. Daddy bought gas with the money Jess had given him, keeping the money from Ethel in his wallet. He knew Sis and Jess didn't have much, but at least they both had jobs... And he planned to repay them "when his ship came in."

Mama wondered where they would spend the night but was just as happy to drive around the city as Daddy gave her the grand tour. She didn't know he was waiting for the hour to grow late so he could perhaps talk some hotel clerk out of a free room. And talk he did.

Armed with their wedding certificate, Daddy left Mama in the car and gave a hard luck story about a lost wallet to several prospective marks in the better hotels. No luck at the Brown Palace, but  he finally scored well and they had the bridal suite at a posh downtown hotel. Sadly, I've forgotten which one.

Mama couldn't believe her ears the next morning when Daddy told her he wanted her to stay with Ethel while he got a job and made enough to get them their own place, but praying for grace and peace, she said nothing. 

Over the next several months, Daddy left Mama with various of his siblings and cousins while we went off to work in the mines of Colorado's mountains. He had grand ideas of making big money. No one believed any of them, not even Mama, but Daddy's optimism and confidence never flagged.

Somehow, against all odds, Daddy founded and operated a thriving trucking company within a year. The Denver - Climax Trucking Company ran the treacherous roads between those two locales without competition. He later sold the company and bought a house just before I was born. The company, which was still in existence in 1973, is listed in an online industry report.

As soon as money was coming in, Daddy rented a place in Denver and modestly furnished it. He was gone most of the time working, managing, driving and hanging out in bars. 

Daddy didn't drink anything alcoholic but loved the bar scene. No one gave him a hard time about being a Teetotaler , though. He was large and loud and loved everyone. He thought of life as a grand adventure and had more stories with each new day, many of them embellished with his unique brand of humor, irony and wit. He never had to pay for his snacks and sodas. If the patrons didn't treat him, the bartenders would. He was good for their business.

Mama was accustomed to being alone but worried about her marriage, the safety of her man and her health which was not reacting well with the high altitude of the Mile High City. Her tendency to fret, however was less than it had been and was tempered by her blossoming love for this "Larger Than Life" man who continued to treat her as a rare treasure. Still she wondered when the roaring, cursing ruffian he seemed to be with others might show up in her bedroom. She continued to pray for grace and peace.

The Lord sent her nausea and amazing news.