A Message from Great Grandmother

Nana dropped by with this Bible for us, and it's a special one.  This is Madison's great-great grandmother's Bible, one owned by Tona Doorn, which you can see written on the first page inside here.

This was nearly a hundred years ago, which seems like forever ago  You can see the exact date this was given to her, either by her Pastor or by her actual father, back on January 25, 1922.

This was the insert that surprised us.  It was found in the middle pages of the Bible, right at the first page of the book of Obediah.

The words are hand-written on a daily devotional page, written on the back in pencil:

You are living a scripture, a chapter each day
By the things that you do, by the words that you say
Men see what you do whether kind or true
Say what is the scripture according to you

It's a message from an ancestor, and it's a good one.  It's amazing to picture her now, writing this down carefully.  It must have meant something to her, or at least she thought it would be meaningful for someone else to hear.  The latter is certainly the case, as we were pleasantly surprised to read this today.

A recent message that Daddy wrote about David at Ziklag came to mind, and how everything was lost for him and his men.  The story that follows is epic, a tale filled with complainers, schemers, weary folks, and those who battled on to get back what was stolen.  At the epicenter of it all was David, who had the wisdom to do this one thing first:  seek God.  After getting that guidance, he marched forward, and everyone else involved played their part.  Some were too tired to go on, and others complained, and even wanted to stone David.  Still others complained again once the battle was won, upset at those who did not do as much as they themselves did to win the fight.  In the end, everyone got their share of things back, as the lesson was clear:  God won them the victory.

It's a great story, but the thing that has stuck with me is the part everyone played within it.  There are those in this story that will forever be remembered as those who complained.  There are those who wanted to launch stones at their leader.  And then there are those that sought after God, and those who marched on to victory.  There are those that took from the weak, and those that were generous.  There were those that wanted to take credit for everything, and those who gave credit to God.

The lesson is obvious:  what part are we playing in today's story?  We are possibly approaching a Ziklag moment, where much has been taken from us.  The question for many is... now what?  I believe the answer is found in this story, in what David first did.  He first sought after God.  He was generous.  He was kind to those who were weaker.  And he gave all credit to God.

Just like the scripture of old, this story is being written for all to see, a permanent record of a battle that God helps us win.  What part are you playing in that story?

Today was a good day, another day under quarantine though.  Daddy did sneak over to check on Ye-Ye and Nana, dropping by some pita chips.  I went to the grocery store, and was completely paranoid, using wipes anywhere and everywhere I could.

Madison had taekwondo practice again tonight, so we set things up in the living room.  This time, we left her to do her practice, while hiding out on the front porch, reading a few books there.  It was a nice day outside, cool and not too bad.  The pollen is extreme, which makes for additional complications with the lungs.  But not too bad to be out in, at least temporarily.

Madison was doing school work for a good bit of the day again, which has been such a long process throughout the day.  It just takes so long.  She sits on the couch there, and just slogs through it all.  I think that's the right word.  Slog.  She's been slogging through her assignments.  But we've been getting some notes and emails from her teachers, and she's getting it all done.

We started re-watching "The Mandalorian" tonight, seeing the first two episodes again.  This is because we were putting together a LEGO Mandalorian figure, Jango Fett.  You'll see that picture tomorrow, I think.  We also watched a few episodes of "The Clone Wars," the ones related to another galactic pandemic, the Blue Shadow virus.  There were certainly some moments of familiarity here.  Right now, jedi knights are racing across the solar system to a planet that has a particular giant man-eating plant root that can solve all our problems.

We read tonight, and we kept everything routine, though it is clearly not.  We're stuck at home, and while that isn't as draining on us at the moment, the idea of staying here until the end of April is.  Spring Break, for example, is cancelled.  At least, the idea of going anywhere is cancelled.  It's too much to risk for Nana and Ba-Ba, and besides, they're about to put the entire state on lockdown.  In fact, that's coming soon here to Georgia, on a county-by-county basis.  It's a new and undiscovered country.  But we're going to play our part the best we can.