Great Aunt Ann and Fightin' Lucy

God’s Showstoppers

My sister’s family has three of God’s showstoppers. The first one is a little girl, with red hair and heart shaped lips.  This three year old had an armada of praying people remembering her and her parents each night for eight months. The miracle of a child came after the heartbreak of multiple miscarriages.  For many years, my nephew, Norian, and his wife, Caroline, hoped and prayed for a baby. As a family, we, along with many friends hoped and prayed with them. Prayer has the power to change things and for this young couple, the change has been positive. For the first time, I became a great aunt.  As I held this little bundle I felt the shock and awe of a smooth skinned miracle. Evva Katherine Hanes Fordham is a showstopper.

Acts Two and Three of God’s Showstoppers came October 25, 2011. Evva Kate was joined by a sister, Lucinda Jean Hanes Fordham and a brother, Norian Travis Hanes Fordham. Lucy is two minutes older than her brother, Norian T.  These events are incredible to me also, because the parents of these beautiful people are in their early forties. God is blessing them with a wonderful team of helpers and much needed stamina.

Surely, Abraham and Sarah of the Old Testament felt the awe of a miracle as they held Isaac for the first time. They never thought a baby would bless them when they were beyond childbearing years. Sarah laughed inwardly when the Lord visited them to tell of the impending birth. (Genesis 18:10-15)

In both testaments of the Bible, God presented showstoppers to His people. Joshua 6 relates the story of Joshua finding out he was standing on holy ground. Joshua followed God’s directives in showing the Israelites how to take the city of Jericho. God told Joshua and the Israelites to march around the city of Jericho once a day for six days. The seventh day, God would have the people circle the city seven times.  The seventh day as they circled the city for the seventh time there would be a huge blast from a ram’s horn and the people were to give a great shout. The wall of the city of Jericho would fall flat. Joshua and the Israelites followed the commands of the Lord to take the city of Jericho. What a showstopper that had to be!

Just like a large basketball powerhouse playing a small school, no one gave David a chance to defeat Goliath. But David stopped the show with a rock between the eyes of the mighty Philistine. (I Samuel 17: 49-50)

Mary and Martha sent for Jesus after the death of their brother, Lazarus. They were very sure that Jesus was too late in raising their brother from the dead. When Jesus raised

Him, the people were certainly amazed. Imagine being present as Lazarus emerged from the grave!  (John 11:1-48)

Little Evva, Lucy, and Norian T. will certainly see miracles in their lifetimes.  Little Lucy has become miracle material herself. Because of an intestinal disorder, Lucy hasn’t joined her siblings at home yet. She is quite a storm trooper, having survived three surgeries since her October birth. The hope is that she will be able to come home around the first of February.

When Evva Kate was born she nestled in a bassinette that many family members have used.  Those of us who have emerged from that bassinette have seen the miracle of television, radio, a man walking on the moon, GPS systems, and hand held computers.

Baby Jesus had a manger for a bassinette and computers aren’t mentioned in the Bible, but the prayers of family and friends are ageless. These three little showstoppers will be surrounded by Jesus’ love that will more than meet their needs.

Great Aunt Ann and Norian Travis Hanes Fordham

Great niece, Evva Kate Hanes Fordham, Joy and Faith McMann (two of my grands!)

What follows works well for mild depression or “down days” but medical advice should be sought for severe depression.

1. Seek light on dark days and dress in a bright color.
2. Fall in love with a new book.
3. Send a note to a friend.
4. Share an inspiring story with another person.
5. Write about a funny person or event in a journal.
6. Volunteer at a local school or soup kitchen.
7.  Sing along with inspirational music.
8.  Make play dough and after you have played with it, share it with a child or teacher of children. (Recipe below.)
9. Walk for exercise and say prayers of thanksgiving for the body parts you have that work.
10. Put on a comical video or read comic strips and laugh for at least eleven                                minutes daily, the time necessary to massage your heart. Look at your high school annual and the laughter will last longer.
11. Make a drastic change in your hair and enjoy the laughter of others if it’s too drastic! Men, if you have a beard, shave it off. If you don’t have one, grow one!
12. Visit a homebound person.

Moving the focus of attention away from yourself and reaching out to others is therapeutic for gloomy days.  The reward is two souls bathed in the oil of comfort.  Reach down into your life’s well of memories to recall humorous events and share them with others.  They can be lifelines for rescue from the tunnel of a dark day.

Recipe:

COOKED PLAY DOUGH

Ingredients:  1 cup flour

½ cup salt

2 tablespoons cream of tartar

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup water

drops of food coloring

Mix dry ingredients.  Add oil, water, and food coloring. Mix thoroughly.  Place on the stove on medium heat and cook for approximately 3 minutes.  Stir while cooking.  The mixture is done when it begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.

CRAFT CLAY

Ingredients:  1 cup corn starch

2 cups baking soda (1 lb. box)

1 ½ cup water

Combine and cook until thickened to dough-like consistency. Turn mixture out on pastry board and knead.  This clay is good for modeling objects to be painted when dry.

Recipes from:  An Art Activities Handbook for Teachers of Young Children by

Craft and Hess

Moving into the store, we noticed large signs on the lunch counter.  “Closed to Colored.” “Where do the people eat that don’t have a place at the counter?” My six year-old curiosity was at its peak. “They have to find a place next to the front of the stores and eat on the sidewalk sometimes.”  After her explanation, she bought her thread in silence.

Emerging from the store, I saw the most horrifying sight of my young life.  The crowd was violent and the police had been called to gain control. The policemen had dogs and brandished billy clubs. Now, they were out of control. The next sound brought the explosion of blood and the liquid noise of a skull breaking.  My grandmother’s hand clamped over my eyes, but not soon enough.  The man lay dying, his thoughts, hopes, cries, and emotions pouring onto Fourth Street.  She pushed me quickly through the crowd to the safety of the bus stop. As we sat on the bus tears trickled from her face.

“Ann, what you saw back there wasn’t right; you don’t beat someone for wanting to eat at a lunch counter.  Remember, you treat others the way you want to be treated, we’re all alike on the inside, it doesn’t matter what color God wrapped us in on the outside.”

The next Sunday as our Sunday School class sang, “…red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world”—the words held new meaning.

Memaw’s words stuck to me through the years. My grandmother not only said the words, but lived them. She talked and laughed with the African-American lady who helped her cook in the boarding house Memaw ran. She asked Della to sit with us every time she was there to help with meals. Della would always say, “No Mrs. Franklin, it’s not my place.”  If you’ve seen the movie, “The Help”, it is a true rendition of the history we lived in the Fifties and Sixties.

Integration within my school, R.J. Reynolds High, was accomplished without violence. The first African-American student, a girl, enrolled during the time my sister was a student at Reynolds, school years 1955-1959.  I tried to remember my grandmother’s words, “we are all alike on the inside,” as Rickey P., another new student, enrolled in 1965 and looked around with apprehension at our whitewashed faces. I laughed when Rickey, who became my lab partner, teased me with the label, “soda cracker.”

We are commanded to love each other with God’s unconditional love, no matter our color, creed, or physical challenges. Wrap someone in it today, one size and color fits all.

My grandparents Stella and Ed Franklin

Some years ago I had the opportunity to visit the entombment of the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  It’s likely that the young men caught in this surprise attack never had time to experience the fear of their approaching death. The oil from the doomed ship still rises to the surface as a reminder of the 1,177 lives lost there. One day the oil will cease to rise, and it will be up to future generations to be sure the youth entombed in the Arizona will never be forgotten.

Even those of us who have never served a day in the armed forces have moments in foxholes. One such event for me was the spring of 1969 in Winston-Salem. I was a young working girl living away from home for the first time in my life. Racial tension permeated the city. Shots rang out to break the sleepy stillness of our neighborhood. I bolted upright in bed.  The main area of downtown, less than a mile from my apartment, glowed with the eerie orange of new fire.  I fumbled in the dark to find the telephone book.  With trembling hands, I dialed the number.

“Winston-Salem Police Department,” a lady answered. “I need to report a fire and some gunshots at the Answorth Apartments on West Sixth Street.”

“Ma’am we’re on the scene already.  When you leave your house tomorrow you’ll see police officers and the National Guard. A race riot has started a few blocks from where you are. You really should stay in your apartment.”

“But, I have to work.”

“Do you work downtown?” “No ma’am, it’s not actually right inside of downtown.”

“You should be OK.  Just don’t go anywhere near downtown until this is over. Watch the news for a curfew.  Be sure you have your driver’s license with you. You’ll have to show it to be able to get back to your apartment.”

For the first time in many months I prayed.  I asked for comfort and protection so that I could sleep.  I slept soundly until the telephone rang early the next morning.

“Ann, are you alright? My father’s voice was shaky. “Yes, I’m fine.”

“Do you know about the riot?”

“Yes, I think I heard it start.  I called the police, and they said it would be ok for me to go to work as long as I avoided downtown altogether.”

“I’d feel a lot better if you moved back home until this is over.”

“I’ll be fine, Daddy, I’ll call you when I get in every nite.  Just pray that I can sleep without being afraid.”

I slept soundly throughout the entire ordeal.  Within a week, the curfew was lifted, and the presence of National Guardsmen was no longer visible. Prayers in my foxhole gave me a release from fear with faith’s pants pulled way up.