Dr Mary wrapped in the quilt from her grandmother's hand
We sit on the back porch, my mother and I
Rustling grass on the hills reaching far
Storms rolling crossed colored Kansas skies………
I’m still working on my little rambles about my songs………….
Thank God for Small Things was written especially for a Sunday service at the Presbyterian Church in Eckert, Colorado. I had committed to sing at the church, not remembering that I was scheduled for dental surgery on the Friday before. They had removed a tooth on the bottom in the front that had a broken root. The dentist hadn’t realized that the root was broken and attempted to bleach the tooth. The bleach leeched into the jaw bone and caused on-going pain and ultimately bone loss around the root……..The tooth was removed and the idea was to do a bone graft, so that an implant could be put in……Well……there was much more bone loss than expected and the bone graft didn’t fill the space……………………..So, here I was, the day before I was scheduled to sing, I could barely open my mouth..
For a moment I considered a call to cancel and then I thought about my situation and how much more inspiring it might be…….for ME and for those listening…….if I could actually do something amazing in the position that I was in……………………ugh…..In the past, singing for this congregation, I usually wrote a new song………………..Well,…….. THIS time, maybe they’d understand if I sang something that I’d sang before…….maybe Amazing Grace or something that I had written before? It wasn’t until the afternoon on Saturday that the medication was wearing off and I could bring myself to even sing, ignoring the pain.
My daughter, who was two years old, was so compassionate. She would look carefully into Mamma’s mouth and get the saddest look on her face. She was so kind and loving………………no running and jumping and being loud. She was careful not to bump her momma and kept trying to do things to make me smile.
We sat on the back porch in the rocking chair, wrapped in a quilt……grandma’s quilt. Nikaila loved to have me read to her and I had stacked all of her favorite books next to the chair. Luckily, she was OK for a while just looking at pictures……………………….In hopes that I’d be inspired to think of what I should sing the next day, I brought out the guitar and it was leaning on the end table next to the chair.
The dobie foot-hills that lay at the base of Grand Mesa should always an inspiration. But, because they are there every day, I suppose, it was easy to forget to drink in their beauty. THIS particular day they were especially beautiful. Clouds were casting the most amazing shadows across the valley, defining the curves of the hills. Little Nikaila’s eyes were shining up at me, as I read “Lyle’s Crocodile”. She laughed and laughed at the book’s end …………..and then…….. something struck me………..I was alone, having no husband or boyfriend, I couldn’t just lie in bed and seclude my self from the rest of the world while I licked my wounds. I was in so much pain and I needed to take care of a two year old………………..But……………for some reason, I was happier than I had ever been in my entire life!!!
I had FINALLY learned…………..learned to stop and take in the moment …..learned to thank God for small things!! Why had it taken me so long? These precious small things that make up my life had been happening to me since the very beginning……..and then I began to see the way that these blessings were woven through my life………..and the stitches of the quilt that my grandmother had made surrounded me as if she was hugging me as she had years ago…..years ago, when I didn’t realize what a precious moment it was………..years ago when she was still alive…………………..Thank God I still had her quilt to comfort me, that day……
I cried……….and I cried……and poor little Niki didn’t understand, I’m sure…….But, this wonderful and thoughtful song came rushing forward. I could barely write fast enough and through the tears……..I thank God for small things in my life, every day…..and remember that sometimes it takes, what most might see as a bad day, to bring me back to my roots and the reality of my small things that I’m thankful for……..
The congregation seemed to enjoy the song…….But, NO ONE was moved by this song more than I.