This past weekend Mary and I journeyed back to attend an off
year (44th) reunion for my class in high school. Before the activities started in the
afternoon, we even got to spend a few hours visiting with three of Mary’s relatives
in the morning for breakfast. It was great to go and great to see people who we
had not seen in many years. That in itself was enough of a treat.
On the way home we talked a couple of times about the friends we had
conversations with and how they had or had not changed over the years. We both found that it was a rich experience to
hear how others had navigated over 4 decades of life. There were some tender stories about children
and grandchildren, some heartbreaking stories about tragedies along the way,
some amazing stories of how people overcame those challenges, and a good
handful (although not all) who in the process of telling their story or just
having conversation with us, made reference to a faith in Christ in some way,
shape, or form. That in
and of itself would have been sufficient enough to say, “What a great weekend!”
I’m probably too analytical at times, but I’m convinced now that
those great times were ancillary to why I was supposed to be there. Allow me to
explain. One of the people
attending the weekend was a classmate whose mother held a rather special place
in my memories from growing up in my home town.
Her name was Mrs. Owen. She was a
lady full of grace, patience, encouragement and love as she taught music to
students in our school system (Admittedly I have elevated her to sainthood).
I had her for about 3 years as a private
instructor for violin (don’t ask, it’s a long story) coming out of grade school
and beginning Jr High, and later as my instructor for music class and school
chorus. The week before the reunion, I
wondered if she might still be alive and what age she would be if she was still
with us.
Well I got my answer rather quickly. One of the first things Sue said to me was, “My
mother was asking about you when she heard you were coming.” The now 95 year old Mrs. Owen, still very
much alive and well, was asking about me! There was no doubt what I needed to do about
that. She still resides in the same
house she did probably for the last 70 years and it was only about 4 blocks
from where we were that afternoon.
We left the party early so we could go see this grand lady
before dinner. There she was waiting for
us and all gussied up, I might add, since she knew we were coming. Her granddaughter was there to welcome us at
the door. For the next 45 minutes we had
a wonderful time listening to her talk about her life: where she grew up, how
she got into teaching, the challenges she faced (that as a student I never knew
about), and she also shared some very
kind words of how she appreciated my mom as a friend.
Mrs. Owen had also told her family that she remembered I had
some “very serious intentions about a girl from Chemung;” (who was sitting
right next to me). We tried to figure
whether she might know some of Mary’s family and she also inquired about our
family we had raised.
I knew I also had to go through confession so at one point
I said, “You did realize I didn’t always practice didn’t you?” It was met only with a gracious but silent smile.
Trying to cover my sins, I went on to say that I picked up the guitar for a
while in recent years which made her happy, but we really brought joy to her
face when I told her nearly every day I sing to hospice patients who need to hear their
favorite hymns for encouragement. Her
investment in me and countless others did not go to waste.
Before we left I asked her if I could pray for her and she
agreed with great pleasure. When I asked
her what the most important thing I could pray about was, she said, “Love: this
world needs a lot more love.” We prayed,
we got up to leave, said our good byes and before we slipped out the door, she
said, “I’ve prayed for you many times over the years.” Wow: melt my heart and make me cry!
You never know in this world who’s got you covered! Yeah, I thought we were going back for a high
school reunion, but I know better now. Thanks
Mrs. Owen for taking the time to share with us and be an encouragement to us
even in this season of your life.
Philippians 1: 3
