Last night my husband and I went to my cousin, Gayla's home for a Clemons-Watts Cousin's Christmas dinner. It was WONDERFUL. Gayla's mom and dad were there and her sister and brothers and all their families. We laughed and talked about the craziness of the past and we all learned a little more about one another. The best part of the evening for me, though, had to be sitting with my Aunt Sandra and Uncle Sam for several hours. It has been so many years since I got to spend that much time with them... it was just heavenly. (I did so miss my son and his family and my sister and hers.)
One of the things that remains confusing for those of us sitting around that table last night was the names our ancestors choose to be known by...
...grand-daddy's name was Christopher Otto... he choose to be called Otto over Christopher or Chris
...our grandmother was Bessie Leella, she disliked her name... she kept Bessie and was known by that name but, she changed her middle name to Lee... nowdays we might have gone for Bess and kept the Leella
...our great aunt's name was Minnie Beulah... she choose to be called Beulah instead of Minnie or even Min
We had aunts named Prude and Toncie and uncles named L.Z. and Ira Ligeren (which was pronounced Ar Liggern. Also, the word "aunt" was pronounced "aint"... it is an Arkansas thing, okay?)
There were older cousins named Eightsie, Texie, Snookie and Tootser. (Eightsie's husband's given name, by the way, was Bum. Yes, it was BUM. Also, the Snookie in our family has never been to the Jersey shore and I am quite sure she never heard anything about orange-colored fake tans.)
Today, I was just thinking about the fact that I sat there in that beautiful home in McKinney with my Uncle's family all around me and my husband. It has been so long since we have been together the way we were together last night. God brought to my memory another person with a really strange name, Mephibosheth.
I felt like him last night. He was one of the royal family who reigned prior to David. His daddy was Jonathan, David's best friend, and his grandpa was Saul. When Saul and Jonathan were killed, Mephibosheth was taken into hiding by a nurse. While attempting to save Mephibosheth, she dropped him and he was crippled. In her haste she hurt him permanently and his inablity to walk caused him shame and it cost him opportunities to be with other people and just enjoy each other's company. Also, he grew up knowing there were people who wanted to harm him, even kill him.
King David was indeed looking for members of Jonathan's family. But, he did not want to harm them nor kill them. Instead he wanted to know them personally, he wanted to bless them with an inheritance because of the love he had for their father. Once David found Mephibosheth, he had his servants bring Mephibosheth and his infant son to Jerusalem, to the King's splendid home. David in no way wanted to harm Jonathan's son. He had him brought to sit at the table with the king! To share stories about his dad! He learned things about his dad and his heritage from David that no one else knew! What a blessing! Mephibosheth's shame was replaced with honor.
This is who I was last night... Mephibosheth! Sitting at the table next to my Uncle Sam and listening to my sweet cousin's stories, I was Mephibosheth.
Over the last year and a half, God has been doing some great things in my life... reconnections with people that I have missed for so long and doors are opening that are very exciting!
Let's see... wonder what God has planned next???????????? It just keeps getting better!
Thank you to my FAMILY for the lovely visit last night,
Your cousin, Mephibosheth... I can't decide if I like it more or less than Sharon!
Praying today for:
The nation of Haiti
The state of Utah
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