(Spoiler alert: I switch back and forth between "barefoot" and "barefooted". I missed that day in English class. Forgive me, Mrs. Brooks, Mrs. Rainbolt, Mrs. Calloway. But it's MY blog and I can pretty much be as grammatically incorrect as I want.)
* * * * *
One of my most very favorite things about spring is when the little "blue daisies" start sprouting up everywhere. They are not blue. They are not daisies. Some might classify them as weeds, but given my green thumb skills, I'll claim anything with a bloom on it as a floral masterpiece. The little blue daisies take me back to a happy childhood memory.
When I was a little tomboy, I wouldn't be seen wearing shoes from March through the first frost of fall, unless of course my momma made me wear shoes for church. ("God expects nothing less than your best, and your dirty feet are not something that is pleasing to God when coming to His house." That's pretty much word for word what my momma would say.) The privilege of going barefoot hung precariously on when the little "blue daisies" would bloom.
I excelled at being barefoot; I could outrun any kid, barefooted, on the gravel road in front of our house. I was no tenderfoot by any stretch of the imagination. This just added to my tomboyishness and further proved that girls are tougher by far than boys. (This pretty much still holds true today. Ever heard of the man flu?)
But according to my momma, whose word was the gospel, it was almost against the law to go barefoot before those little not blue, not daisies started sprouting up. "Why?? WHY, mom???" "Because that's what my mother always told me", she'd say. So that alone set the standard for official barefoot season.
(Pardon me for a minute while I slip off my shoes and take just a tiny detour with you down my Memory Lane. My favorite childhood memories almost always involved being outside. I loved to build little roads for my pretend cars and trucks (matchboxes); the "roads" were pretty elaborate and would usually include several roadside parks and fancy bridges. I loved playing in the creek in the woods behind our house. My cousins and I would get a cardboard box and slide down the little hill and stop just short of the creek. We never looked for a snake. We never got poison ivy. We never got lost. I loved to make mud pies and decorated them with flowers out of the yard. I loved to ride my Flying-O bicycle that I got in fourth grade; I probably had almost as many miles on it as we do our car. I loved to fish in my grandpa's pond. At least once a week in the summer I would either ride my bike or walk (barefooted) on the gravel road to the little country grocery store about a mile from our house. I would pick up enough coke bottles along the way to pay for my ten cent coke. (Yes, I'm that old.) Now don't get me wrong, I loved my Barbie, but that was saved for rainy days or winter play. On a side note: My momma would make me at least one new Barbie outfit every week, complete with hat and matching purse. What I'd give to have that now!! I am so thankful that electronics hadn't made their appearance yet; my childhood memories are priceless! But enough of my reminiscing; I need to get back to the little blue daisies. I'd love to hear about how you spent your childhood!!)
* * * * *
In 2002 my dad passed away suddenly and we brought my momma to our home to live. By this time her Alzheimer's had advanced drastically and it fell on me as their only child to go through everything and sell their house in town. I'm glad, actually, that she was spared having to do this; I"m also selfishly glad that I didn't have to share that experience with anyone else, because what started out as something that I thought would be heartbreaking turned into a memory that I will always cherish.
My dad had been known to hide away large sums of cash in the strangest of places, so I had to look in every nook and cranny in their house "just in case". (Nope, didn't find a dime.) But I did find a treasure chest (shoe box) worth more than money could buy. My mom had a collection of sticky notes, that I can only guess she used as reminders when she first started having memory problems. Some of the notes were reminders for birthdays or appointments or when to pay bills or what to pick up at Wal Mart. But this one! Oh my heart!! She had left a sticky about the little blue daisies ("dasies"), along with what used to be an actual little blue daisy. This was worth more than gold to me!
* * * * *
God not only gives us signs through little blue daisies for barefoot season, but he has given us other signs to watch for as well. "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh." The whole 24th chapter of the book of Matthew details a big list of signs that we are to watch for that signal the coming of the Lord. When I was younger, this just was not a favorite passage of mine because it seemed a little scary, but now at this age, I get excited thinking that THIS might be THE DAY!! Just watch a little bit of the morning news, if you dare; the time seems right! (Excuse me again, but I have to tell you this: Another favorite memory of my momma was when we would spend what seemed like hours on our backs in the front yard looking at cloud shapes. She would always tell me, "This just might be the very cloud that Jesus comes back on!" Oh that every child had a momma who instilled the love of Jesus in a child like mine did. She didn't just believe it - she lived it.)
So the next time you spot one of those little blue daisies, look up in the spring sky and think about those big white fluffy clouds. Could Jesus be getting ready to step out on that very cloud on this very day?? We have the signs; we just need to make sure we're ready. It's been said that "we can't take it with us when we're gone", but actually there is one thing we CAN take. We can take our family and friends IF they are a barefooted child of God. (No, you don't have to be barefoot to go to Heaven, but it couldn't hurt!) I'd love for you to come with me!! It just might be today!!
"And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up,
and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."
Luke 21:28
