Really old memories are hard because although they seem so real, it's hard to know if you remember them correctly. One of those few really old memories for me occurred on our way to Nebraska in 1976. Our family picked up and moved from Utah to Nebraska in 1976. My father was starting a new farming venture. It reminds me a little of homesteading, I guess seeing as it was all kind of primitive in a way. Anyway, I would have been just over 2 years old and we were moving in the dead of winter - going from freezing cold to surface of Pluto cold. I do know that for some reason, our old blue truck broke down in the middle of Nebraska (at least I believe that was the vehicle we were in - someone please correct me if need be). I don't remember a lot, but I do remember a brief, but important memory of actually being towed to the nearest town while we rode IN the truck (our truck). I also have this random thought all the time about this that we were eating raisins. Dad was riding in the tow truck, I believe. Kind of a strange, hazy memory, but...
It is the first memory I have of a trial that our family/parents went through. The first of a never ending life of them. Seems that our parents rarely, if ever, have caught a break in life. Something was always breaking, failing, not working as planned, etc. I sit here laughing out loud because it is almost a ridiculous truth, and has been such a defining part of my life. Fitting that one of my earliest memories is of a trial. All I know is that my father and mother have always been in trial and they have somehow always made it work. I think my parents are some of the last pioneers - not in age, but in spirit.
I always thought I was so different from my parents, but one quality I have learned from my parents is to persevere, to never quit, to never give up. When there is little to hope for, they muster up more faith until they find more hope. It has rarely rewarded them in the eyes of the world, but what an amazing and powerful gift they have given to me. I now see my life mirrored in my parents at times. I have seen it done - the ability to hope and to faith your way through life's difficulties. I hope I can pass that message on to my children because I find it of high value - it is in a way, the spirit of repentance, redemption, and the gift of enduring to the end.
I look back at a small space many years ago where 3 small kids, their mother, and their hopeful father found light to cling to on a lonely and dark path. For some must push and some must pull...all is well, all is well. If there are saints and pioneers of that spirit, my parents will someday walk with a lighter path.
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I can't believe you even remember a vehicle breakdown at all. We were traveling just outside of Kearney, Nebraska in an ugly snow storm, going very slowly. Another car had actually stopped dead still right in the middle of the lane and we didn't see it until it was too late to stop. Luckily for all of us, no one was hurt, but the truck, which was not old, but brand new (club cab, blue Dodge), was damaged. We had to go back to Kearney. I don't remember how we got to our farm now ??? We had to rent a car for the next week until the truck was done. Dad has an amazing, faith-promoting story maybe he'll share with you about how he got back to Kearney to pick up the truck. It is a great (!) story. Yes, it was a trial and even today, we are facing a big one since our van's timing belt has gone out and it will cost a bundle of money to fix it.
There are some quiet periods of time in our lives where we have respite from the trials, but I do have to agree with you Adam. Our lives have been filled with numerous trials - some brought on by our own stupidity or naivete (sp?) and some brought about just because it's life.
I know that without the testimony of a living, caring God, I would not have been able to get through much. He is the source for truth and hope. He is always there and it becomes our duty to seek Him and rely on His calming Spirit to get through the hardships. And then we need to seek Him when life is going smoothly and thank Him for that respite.
To end this, I am not one of those people Obama talked about -- I have no need to turn to religion because I'm bitter. I am one of those often frustrated, poor folk, but I turn to religion because it brings me solace, I find answers and hope through my beliefs, and I simply KNOW that this is truth. Sorry Obama - you aren't in touch with my world. :)
Mom
After going back to Kearny, we rented a Uhaul truck, packed our stuff in and drove the rest of the way to the farm. We got to the farm after dark on a very cold, snowy night. We couldn't see the driveway because it was covered in snow but it was a moonlit night (if I remember correctly) and I think Mom drove the Uhaul while Dad walked the 1/4 mile driveway to ensure that she didn't go off into the gully. Upon pulling up to the trailer, we went inside and immediately turned on the heat. I just remember how badly the place smelled and how cold it was. After Mom and Dad unloaded some stuff, Mom made us bologna sandwiches and we eventually made it to bed. The next morning, Dad took me on a walk through the snow behind the house to the tire swing on the big cottonwood tree down by the road (the one that he tore down a year or so later). I had never seen so much snow before in my life.
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