A Hug From Nearly 50 Years Ago

October, 2013
This past week I was up to Grammie Ruth's at Cary Lake in Littleton. One day I was doing some things with her bookshelves and her files and I came across a square, flat box. This reminded me of the boxes that used to hold lovely, lace-bound handkerchiefs for ladies. And sure enough! Inside, wrapped in tissue, were three lovely ones. They were the fashionable kind that women carried to Church or other dress-up occasions. Also in the box was a delightful Christmas card addressed to my mother. It was signed, "Dallas".

Here I held in my hand a Christmas card and gift from my mother-in-law to my mother that was probably given and received in 1963 -- the year that Gramp and I were married. The thing that took my breath was a simple message on the back of the card, "thank you for giving me a wonderful daughter." I cannot even begin to tell you how much that sentiment meant to me. It was a difficult wait for Gramp to come in from hunting. I could hardly wait to show him the long-forgotten treasure.

Now let me say that our parents grew up in the times of the Great Depression. Therefore, they wasted nothing and they didn't start using anything "new" until the old was no longer useful. I remember my Mom using clear nail polish to stop the runs on her nylon stockings. And she STILL washes out plastic sandwich bags to be used over and over. Those are just two examples of her frugality.

So often her children have opened a new package of towels or a new set of drinking glasses or some other gift just to be sure she used them. But she still keeps some of her new treasures in their boxes or puts them on a shelf where they wait to be used and enjoyed. It is a habit from childhood poverty and the 1930s that has never totally gone away.

But in contrast to my consternation in the past, this time I was happy to find the unused gift in the security of a collection of old photos and composition books. I was thrilled to receive this high compliment from my mother-in-law, a lady who also grew up with ideas like, "don't praise them too much or they will be 'stuck up'". Of course, I knew she loved me -- she said she did. But I am so glad she thought I was "wonderful" -- and more than that, she thought of me as a daughter. She only had three sons. Her one daughter did not survive to be born. I am SO glad God gave me the opportunity to help fill one corner of the void that she felt forever from the time she learned she had lost a little girl.

This find touched Gramp's heart, too -- it was like a little visit from her. It was like a hug and kiss.


PS: I took the box into the room where my Mom was sitting and I told her I had found something I would like to have if it was ok with her. And, of course, it was!

A Half Century Together

Someone has said that God performed the first marriage ceremony.

After God created Adam, He said that it was not good for man to be alone and so He created a woman. The Bible says in Genesis chapter two, "Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.  And Adam said: 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.' Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."

Someone said recently, "one plus one equals one".  That is God's view. And that is why many traditional wedding ceremonies quote from the Bible, "what God has joined together, let not man put asunder." We believe marriage is to be between one man and one woman for life. That is why we promised to love, honor, and cherish each other until we are separated by death. We also believe that God brought us together -- and He has kept us together by His own power and love. We are very thankful for that.

Grandchildren, even after fifty years it was a good thing to stop and think about the promises we made to each other on August 27, 1963. It was a blessing to repeat those vows in front of our children and as many grandchildren and other family members as could make it. What an amazing time it was for us at Stephen's and Jeannie's to have Charles Fore lead us in reciting our marriage vows just as he did fifty years ago.

Right now we have grandchildren from the age of nearly two to twenty-three. Some of you are married already and we pray for you. We pray for the rest of you that you will make wise choices within the will of God for your lives. We pray that you will follow Jesus in your lives and in your marriages. And that you will decide from the very start to keep God at the very center of your family. Whether you are married or not, pray every day for your spouse (the one God has given you or the one He will give you in the future).

Remember that love is more than a feeling. Love is a choice. You can choose to love each other even at times of conflict or disappointment. When you are hurt, angry, or disappointed it is time to go to the mirror of God's Word and take a close look at yourself. I Corinthians thirteen tells us how love behaves.

We pray that when you are married it will be to a Christian who dearly shares your love. We pray it will be an enduring relationship, filled with love and blessing. We pray it will be a life of harmony and growing together in Christ. We know that can happen and that it does.

There is another side, though. It is possible that you can be blinded by wit and charm. It is possible that you can make a decision outside of God's will and be joined to someone who only lives for self. If that happens, you can be an example to your unsaved mate. God can reach that one, redeem him or her, help you ride out the hard times, and transform your home into a peaceful and godly home. That would be our prayer.

Now, here is a hard topic. We live in a difficult time. Sometimes "men are lovers of self" rather than being devoted to God and their family. As painful as the thought is, we must not neglect to say is that we believe God does not expect anyone to stay in an abusive and dangerous situation. We pray nothing like that will ever happen to any of you. Yet, we find it needful to tell you NOT to put your life or health (or that of your children) in danger by staying with someone who jeopardizes your well being. Don't ever think you are "stuck". God will take care of you.

Philippians 4:19 says that God will meet ALL of our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. He has done that for us for a long time now. It hasn't always been a straight, smooth road on this journey. There have been bumps in the road and we have taken some wrong turns. But when we do, we are able to repent and be forgiven. He sets our feet on the right path and points us in the right direction. But more than that, He walks with us. He holds our hands. We know for sure that we are "weak, but HE is strong." 

YES! Jesus loves us. YES! Jesus loves YOU. "Jesus loves me" -- He always has and He always will.

They Prayed For You

Grandpa and Grandma Buza and Their Three Sons

Here is a picture of Grampie Wayne, his Mom and Dad, and his two brothers -- Uncle Carlin and Uncle Joel. I wonder if you can tell by looking at this picture which one of these boys became your grandfather. I will give you a hint: he was the middle son.

Grandpa Buza (Grampie's dad) was a pastor. He pastored churches in New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and was pastor at the Lake Road Church where Grammie Brenda went to church and Sunday school as a child and teenager. They were also missionaries in Guatemala City for a short time when Grampie Wayne was a young boy. Besides preaching and teaching in the Churches, they also loved to teach children. They held Awana clubs and even when Grandma was an old lady she still had Good News clubs at her home in Illinois.

One of the most important things they did in their lives was to pray. They prayed for the Churches, they prayed for the people in Guatemala, and they prayed for their family and their friends. They had a very strong desire in their hearts for all of their children and grandchildren down through the generations to know Jesus and to love Him and trust in Him as their Savior -- and that includes all of you.

Grandma Buza and Heidi at the Nursing Home

Probably none of you remember Grandpa, but I wish you did. He was a lot of fun and he could make friends immediately. God gave him a special gift for being hospitable and kind. Some of you remember Grandma because you visited her at the nursing home in Illinois. A lot of people are unhappy when they are unable to live alone and have to go to a nursing home. Not Grandma! She loved it there. She loved it because it was a place for her to be a missionary again. She told the other residents and the nurses and visitors about Jesus. I have the cord that she wore around her neck with her locker keys on it. Every day people could see the cord that said, "Jesus Loves You" on it! Many visitors coming into the nursing home to visit their family members would stop and talk to Grandma because she was their pastor's wife. They were happy to see her and she was happy to see them. Like Grandpa, she had a lot of friends. She especially loved it when little children went to the nursing home to visit her. She gave some of you little stuffed animals and other trinkets that she won in the Bingo games at the nursing home.

On August 8, 2013, Grampie and I will be thinking of birthdays in the family. It will be Grandma's 102nd birthday and it will be Timothy's 19th. It will also be Devin Harsh's 12th birthday -- Devin is Uncle Carlin's grandson. Grandma was SO proud to think that great grandsons were born on HER birthday. That was very, very special to her.

When you think of her birthday this coming week, be thankful that she and Grandpa are in Heaven. Both of them had at least one parent and some siblings who did not believe in Jesus. They were very sorrowful about that. So are we.

Now that they are with Jesus, we took over part of their ministry. Now WE pray for you. It is our deep desire that each member of this family will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and trust in Him as your Lord and Savior. And we pray that you will honor the Lord all of your lives and teach your children what it means to be a Christian.

 There is an old song, "May the circle be unbroken -- Bye and bye, Lord, bye and bye -- There's a better home a-waiting --  In the sky, Lord, in the sky." That is just a way of saying we want all of our loved ones to be with us in Heaven some day. Our prayer is that Jesus will draw you to Himself and give you FAITH to believe in Him. The Bible says, "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Read Romans 10:9-13)

Nobody can ever give you a greater gift than to pray for you!



Skill Building At Camp

 Kyle has been homeschooled for the past year and we want to show from this entry that he has done some significant work to qualify him for credit in "Industrial Arts" for his portfolio.

One of the first things he learned was how to assemble staging, level it, and use it safely. The staging was in use during the installation of vinyl siding. on the camp.

Uncle Jonathan has been involved for a few years with installing siding for lead abatement projects and for routine use. We thought that his uncle's expertise helped Kyle understand the process quite well. We noticed that he observed his uncle and then put his new knowledge to work.

This project led to Kyle using several carpentry tools and observing the use of others. He also learned the importance of starting on the best side of the building to keep the siding looking smooth to the eye. (I found that interesting).

Here Kyle is with Grampie and Timothy working on the east end of the camp. As far as I am concerned, those guys did a great job.

We are just beginning to work on the inside, but the outside is almost completely done! After sleeping in the camp at near-freezing temper atures, the guys must look forward to HEAT!

 Grampie explained electrical wiring to Kyle and let him have some safe, hands-on experience. I liked hearing the explanation of an electrical circuit. Here they are installing a box for a light switch in the bathroom. This involved Kyle using an electric drill, a wire stripper, and wire nuts.

The switch works and we have a ceiling light and a couple of receptacles. Everyone can hardly wait for the bathroom to be completed so we don't have to go to Grammie's for showers and toilet!


After the electrical wiring was done, it was time for the ceiling to go up. Here, Kyle learned how to put in insulation, cut sheet rock, and screw the sheetrock to the studs. He also learned about   measuring and cutting to fit sheetrock around electrical boxes, the window, and the washer - dryer hookup.

I am sure Grampie feels sorry for Kyle that he didn't have the privilege of patching and sanding the sheetrock. But most of that is done now and the ceiling is painted. I told your grandfather that he could always tell everyone about that ceiling, "a woman did that." It is always nice to have someone to blame, don't you think? I am glad to be the scape goat!

A LIFE LESSON: It is my opinion that nothing is ever wasted. The experiences we have, the skills we develop, and the lessons we learn will be useful to us in some way during our lives.

Maybe the value of all this is that Kyle's hands-on experience has convinced him (at least for now) that he never wants to build his own house!

As I said to him, whenever he goes into the camp bathroom he can always look at one part of the ceiling and say, "that was so annoying!"

Showing Appreciation

                                                                                 

Aunt Valerie Watches As Uncle Stephen Helps Bait Hooks!

Today some of us were chatting. We were sharing some great memories of time spent together -- and how much those times mean to us even now. Some of the very simple things that we have done have made some great memories for all of us.

Just take the fishing the kids did in Stephen's and Jeannie's pond last summer -- catch and release! I think EVERYBODY caught at least one fish. It was a borrowed pond, borrowed poles, and best of all it was the shared company.

You know, GOD has blessed us so much in this family. He has given us the very parents, children, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents that He wanted us to have. Let's not take that for granted -- and even worse, let's not despise what God has done for us.

Aunt Michele Has Some Great-Looking Corn on The Grill

While we were talking today, we decided that we probably take each other too much for granted! We don't thank each other for how much things have meant to us. Today Emily thanked Aunt Marcia for the fun times like going to the zoo and making homemade play dough (using jello to color it)! No matter what we are doing, it really isn't so much WHAT we are doing as WHO we are doing it with! And we decided it doesn't matter how much something costs. We just have fun being together for cookouts, swimming, playing games, sharing stories, taking road trips, watching candles flicker when the power is out, singing, baking cookies, even cleaning house together or taking a hike!

What Fun At The Pool And Playground in Millinocket

Sometimes I hear some of the kids say they are bored. And they know Grammie doesn't like that. There is always a book to read, a project to do, a hug to give, a call to make, someone to help. We aren't bored. There is just nothing around that we are willing to do. Do me a favor and learn the value of just being alone for a bit and thanking God for his many, many blessings.

If you are reading this, YOU are among those who are a blessing to us and all of the family. We want to thank you for every moment that you have spent with us. They are all precious. Our advice to you is to make happy memories. Cherish each other and treasure the moments you have with our loved ones. 

Aunt Beth, Hope, and Uncle Kevin at Emily's Wedding

                                                                                 My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality. It’s also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.

    -- From I John 3 in The Message

A Happy Day For Grammie Ruth

Jamey Watson Wearing Grampie's "Drill Hat"

All of us were looking forward to the well drilling day at our camp -- but none more than Mom.

The big day came and it was a nice temperature and sunny. Jamey and James arrived with the big well rig and the truck of equipment and supplies. Jamey was wearing Grampie's felt drill hat and was dressed in the blue bib overalls that were part and parcel of who Grampie was. He even had a red bandana handkerchief hanging from his hip pocket. Jamey is more like Grampie in build and temperament than any of the other grandchildren. One thing: Jamey was wearing sneakers and Grampie always wore boots. But what fun it was greeting him and learning about well drilling and the special challenge that our gravel was for the driller.

Grammie Ruth and Heather

As we all watched and listened to the preparations someone said, "LOOK! You aren't going to believe this." But somehow I KNEW that Mom must be heading up the hill to see what was happening. Sure enough! Heather was walking along with her, carrying a stool in case Mom got weak or tired and had to sit down. But she did just fine. My remarkable ninety-one year old mother made it up the relatively long incline, thrilled to pieces that she was going to watch the process. We were amazed! Not only did she walk UP the hill, but a few hours later she walked back to her house. All of us were so happy for her that she was able to do this. After all, this well operation represented much of her own life and history.

I have to mention that when Brian arrived on his John Deere lawn tractor, he was teased quite appropriately for riding to the site when his mother walked! Brian enjoyed the process on Monday with us and recalled the time when he worked with the guys on the drill. Quite a number of family and friends had their stint working on the drill over the years.

Fascinating But HARD Work!

The guys -- Jamey and James -- worked very hard at everything necessary to simply give us access to fresh well water at our camp. But as hard as they worked, there was always time for a smile, a little laughter, and some kind words.  A couple of times I asked Jamey if there was a charge for the entertainment. We and they really DID have a good time.

As for me, this was a time to appreciate anew all of God's blessings and to realize again that the things we so often take for granted are not so easily gained in this life. Our grandparents and our parents modeled a great work ethic to us. They really sacrificed much and worked very hard to provide for us as we were growing up. But above and beyond the material and physical provisions, we were given a rich spiritual heritage by people who lived decent, honest, and godly examples before us. Let's not forget to be thankful, for we are rich, indeed! 



More Than Water

Camp "Ruthie Girl"

Our Family Lakeshore Retreat is being built on property that has belonged to Mom since 1957. From her childhood on, our grandfather's term of endearment for her was "My Ruthie Girl". So that is how "Camp Ruthie Girl" got its name.

One of our first celebrations at the camp came in June of 2013 when Watson Wells dug our well. We needed water -- but this well represents MORE than water. Its drilling was a historic moment for us. It is a deep shaft filled with water but it is special to us because it carries the mark of family history and brings to some of us memories of people and events that will always be cherished.



The Watsons: Jim and Margaret; Ellery and Muriel; Ruth, Iola, Lawrence

Watson Wells was founded by my great grandfather, James "Jim" Watson in 1905. The first drilling rig was a steam operated machine that ran on steel rims over the dirt highway. My grandfather Ellery H. Watson was only ten when that operation began, but over the years he learned the science of well drilling and dug many water wells along with other endeavors that included farming, guiding, and automotive mechanics. He was a man of many talents and meticulous about everything that he did. When he wasn't on the job, he was maintaining his tools and equipment or even darning his socks. He was never an idle man.

Drill in Use Since 1985


 

Watson Wells is now in the hands of the fourth and fifth generations of Watson men. Grammie Ruth worked for many years for the company as a secretary and book keeper -- a position she held until she was 85 years old.  After Uncle Lawrence retired, my cousins Jamey and Oral ran the business and Mom had an amazingly good time working with them.

Oral's son James now works with Jamey and they are the two who arrived with their rig and set to work drilling our well at Camp Ruthie Girl.
Now we have water for the camp -- but we have more than water. This project gave us occasion to savor our memories of family and enjoy the company of our cousins as they worked. And we had some nice fellowship as Christians together.

It was GREAT!