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Reflections
The Oleander Leaf
I was just returning from my weekly visit to the recycling station. As I pulled the car into the driveway I began complaining to myself about the intruding limbs from the neighbor’s Oleander bush. Our new young next-door residents just do not grasp the importance of maintaining their shrubs and plants in the manner which our late departed neighbor of 37 years did.
Our driveway is extremely close to the house next door and since these pesky Oleanders love to grow freely, they will simply continue in our direction if not pruned properly and often. Although they produce a rather lovely bloom, they are definitely not one of my favorite plants.
So there I sat, with Oleander limbs practically protruding through my driver-side car window; I wanted to rip the invading limb off and cram it into the neighbor’s mailbox! Simply put, I was tired of this intrusion onto my property.
As I carefully opened my car door to avoid scratching it, something caused me to pause and take a closer look at the renegade Oleander limb. Now, my eyesight at 69 years is definitely not what I would love for it to be, but somehow these aged eyes caught a quick glimpse of a spec of color on an outer leaf of that branch. I gently parted into the leaves and there I discovered the origin of that bit of color.
There she was—slowly and carefully examining every part of the leaf upon which she crawled—one of God’s tiniest, and yet, one of His most beautiful creatures, a Ladybug! That little lady was simply enjoying her excursion around that Oleander leaf just as her Creator had designed her to do. Suddenly all thoughts of intruding limbs from the neighbor’s yard were far behind; I was being allowed to observe one of God’s creatures in action.
Now there are those who will dismiss this encounter as the ramblings of a 69 year-old mind, but I truly believe that there are many lessons to be gained from this “encounter.” The first lesson I learned was that there are far more important things in my life than an un-trimmed Oleander bush. But the most beautiful lesson that I carried away from this special moment was this: We tend to become wrapped up in ourselves—it is very easy to do. We also worry daily about so many things that do not warrant a second thought. We scurry to and fro in such a hurry that we seldom pause long enough to catch a glimpse of the goodness of God that may be found all around us! His mighty hand is as work, even on the tiniest scale.
I am very fortunate indeed; today I witnessed the loving hand of God on an Oleander leaf!
© April 9, 2005
By: James A. Henson
Mama’s Soft Answer
I remember enough things about Mama to fill a book; however, one particular incident had such a profound effect on my life that it changed the way I would think forever. For me it really defined motherhood once and for all.
Mama had very little formal education—she was born in 1894 to a poor farm family—but at times one would never believe it. On many occasions, I would have sworn that Mama had read all the child psychology books ever written. It appeared—to me, least—that she had the credentials to solve any problem that might arise. Consider the time that I had crossed one of her boundary-lines, and the moment arrived for my punishment. Mama did not believe in “sparing the rod.” She knew that such practice would “spoil the child.” Well, she sent me out to the orchard to cut a switch that would be the major part of my “punishment.”
Although I don’t recall for sure just how old I was at this point, I thought I knew something about psychology myself. I proceeded to cut a switch approximately the same diameter as my little finger. A smile crossed my youthful face as I cut this instrument of corporal punishment. I just knew that when I humbly placed this large limb into Mama’s big hands, she would feel such sorrow for me that the planned whipping would no doubt dissolve into a huge hug. Quickly the realization came that I had grossly miscalculated; Mama had not read the psychology books!
“Well son,” Mama softly replied. “I see that you have cut a good one.” She then made good use of that switch. Needless to say, I never tried psychology on Mama again.
Mama was certainly a strict disciplinarian, but on every occasion that correction was necessary, she always softly explained why the punishment was being meted out. Once it was over, two loving arms enfolded me in a web of love.
As I grew into my teen years, Mama’s soft loving voice always gave me the same basic advice: “Son, stay out of dangerous places. Son, be careful of the company you keep.” Today we talk of “role-models” and worry about who is influencing our children. My role model was Mama! She always lived a life before me that was above reproach in all areas. Mama spoke to me of things like, reputation, respect, honor and integrity; those were her bywords. She simply wanted her son to be a good citizen and a positive influence for others.
Many times I recall her words of caution: “Remember, someone is watching your life. You are either leading them on the right path or you are leading them astray!”
I heard her words of guidance, caution and advice every day during my growing-up years. As I entered my early twenties, Mama’s admonitions began to fall on deaf ears; after all, I was now 23 years old, and I knew enough to make my way through the every day world. I began to actually resent Mama’s efforts to protect me from the slings and arrows of a grown-up world. Each time I would leave the house to be with friends, or to attend some function, it was always the same line: “Son, please stay out of dangerous places.”
I began to take all of Mama’s concerns as nagging. I simply felt that I was too old to be bothered with all of her little “sayings.” She seemed to have one for every occasion. Since I was now past twenty-one, I was a grown man and should not have to listen to Mama’s worries constantly. After all, I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself. The whole situation came to a head one evening when I was leaving for a night out with friends.
Mama had begun one of her little statements— probably something about being careful. At this point I had heard enough. I whirled around and spoke harshly to my beloved Mama.
“When are you going to stop worrying about me?” I demanded in a voice much too loud. That gentle lady’s answer stopped me in my tracks!
“When I’m gone,” was her soft, gentle and loving reply.
She didn’t pause to consider what answer to give to my very thoughtless, stupid question. Once again Mama had the correct answer for a son who, until this moment, simply did not realize all the loving ingredients that God poured into Mothers!
The scripture states: A soft answer turns away wrath… Proverbs 15:1 (RSV).
Well, my wrath was not only turned away, it was melted! Never again would I ask Mama that question. That night, at age 23, I came to realize what it meant to have a real mother—a mother who genuinely cared about her child!
With her simple, yet powerful answer, she was saying to me: “Son, you will never grow so old or so tall that I will not worry about you. Perhaps someday you will understand what it means to be a parent.”
The years have visited me with aches, pains and eyes that cannot see clearly anymore, but through them all I have thanked God countless times for Mama. I came to realize very early that I had one of the real treasures in life. It was not locked away in some bank’s safe deposit box; it did not include houses and land. It was not any item that can be purchased on EBay. God had given me the most valuable gift that any person can have; he gave me Mama!
Many of Mama’s “sayings” have been passed on to my two daughters during their young lives. Like Mama, at times I caught a quick glance of at least one of them rolling their eyes as I cautioned, “Honey, please stay out of dangerous places.”
© 2005
By: James A. Henson
The Christian Counter
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