“Thank You That Things Are As Good For Me As They Are”
Mrs. Bertha Davis was a beautiful lady. She was well into her late 70”s, early 80’s in my earliest childhood memories of her. She had grayish/white hair. There was a time when ladies, particularly older ones, kept their hair long, would braid it, twist into a ball, wear it on the top of their head, held in place with combs. That was the way Mrs. Bertha wore her hair. She always wore modest colored dresses. At her home she often covered her dresses with an “over-the-head” style apron, tied in the back by a bow. The aprons had two pockets on the front. In one of the pockets she always had a cloth handkerchief. In the other pocket, she always had a metal can of “Tube Rose” snuff. She enjoyed dipping her snuff. The handkerchief was used to wipe any traces of snuff from her chin, should one accidentally appear. Her home was always neat and tidy, with the fragrance of fresh baked biscuits or cornbread permeating the air. She loved it when company came to visit, with offers of food occurring just as soon as the company entered the door. What a wonderful story teller she was. The sounds of her laughter often filled the space inside the rooms of her house, or were heard from the rocking chairs and porch-swing that adorned the front porch of her house as her visitors listened to and traded stories with her.
Mrs. Bertha’s husband, Yoder, had been dead for several years when I knew her. He had been a subsistence farmer and a “country preacher”. Therefore, going to church was an important part of her life. On Sundays, she would get all dressed up for church. She wore her best dress (home-made, hand-stitched) and, of course, a “pill-box hat” was placed atop the ball of hair on the crown of her head. She carried a well-worn Bible, her purse, and a clean handkerchief. Naturally, her snuff remained at home when worship was on her mind. At church, she enjoyed the Bible class and singing in the choir. She had a wonderful alto singing voice. (If I listen hard enough I can still hear her singing, “How firm a foundation ye saints of the Lord”.) There was no doubt that she loved her church.
However, the memory of Mrs. Bertha that I treasure the most is the one I recall of her praying. Many, many times I heard her pray. She had a marvelous way of wording her prayers: expressing her praise, calling the names of those with special needs, seeking divine forgiveness, and wording her thankfulness. In particular, she used a phrase that, even today, I ponder because of the simplicity and the sincerity of it. She used to say, “And Lord, thank you that things are as good for me as they are.”
My intent is not to sermonize nor spiritualize with this story. My intention is use her words to help us “reframe” some things in our lives. Too often we live in an “Aint’ It Awful” kind of world. We allow our problems and difficulties to rob us of the joy and fun we could be having. In all honesty, there are some folks that I do not ask them how they are doing because I know they will be more than glad to tell me.
Now, lest you and I get all caught up in our “ain’t it awful” web, let’s consider trying “thank you that things are as good for me as they are” on for size. Stay with me for a minute if you will. How about saying “thank you that things are as good for me as they are” as you take your medicines that keep you pain free and allow freedom to continue/improve your way of doing life, or your pacemaker that keeps heart beating regular and steady, or your dentures that allow you to chew and savor your food, or your air conditioning unit(s), your vehicle that gets you to-and-fro, the running water that refreshes or bathes, the technology that helps you keep in touch and in-the-know, the dollars and cents that enable you to acquire and meet your obligations, the walker and/or cane and/or chair that allows you to remain mobile, the well-trained physician(s) that seem to know what to do and how to do it and when to do it, those trained to protect and defend you, those you hold special and seem to hold you special as well, for your meaningful tasks, for your plans/goals/dreams, for memories, the place you call “home”, and …? Sure, there are things missing from all of our lives. But, gracious goodness, how about all of those things we have?!
“Thank you that things are as good for me as they are!” I want to be able to say that in any and all situations, and under any and all circumstances.