Added Blog Post

Summer 1990

Have you ever been through a time in your life when you think, “Oh, this will be the last time that we will…?” Or someone says, “Let’s make sure to plan a get together because it will be the last time…” I can recall when my siblings and I were finding our significant others and the family got together for dinner “the last time as singles before the wedding.” There was another time right before we had our first baby when my husband and I went to pizza with our close friends and over to their house for Trivia Pursuit. Our baby was due that weekend, and I was pretty sure he was coming any minute, but we needed to get together that last time as childless couples. And we were a little crazy; he was born less than twenty-four hours later.

As the children in our family and our siblings’ families get older, we have been discussing a family trip before they graduate. Life has these “last times” around many corners. When I entered the hospital doors for the first time a few months back, having it be the last time I might see the outdoors was far from my mind. It almost was the last time I would see the snow piled up in the back of the parking lot or hear the birds chirping or see the new buds on the trees. I went in with a tumor in my stomach and miraculously came out, but with cancer in its place, an IV tube sticking out of my chest, and an incision eighteen inches long on my abdomen, among other things. Praise the Lord, it did not become my last time to walk out, and I was thankful.

Because the future was not certain, our extended family engaged in discussion with my parents about getting together. We had only been away for two years, but a much needed “family reunion” was put in the works. We have family in states all over the country, literally from sea to shining sea and border to border, so this would be an extensive undertaking. But plans were made, and everyone agreed on Yellowstone National Park. The great outdoors, and close to our home and the hospital and doctors. Chemotherapy was not going to stop for a family reunion, so as many as were able made the trip across the country to meet up at a place at the base of the Teton Mountains outside of Jackson, Wyoming. It was a little ranch with hotel style rooms where the families could divide up and stay. There was a nearby pond where everyone could go fishing, and a meandering creek and trees where exploring was invited. We congregated for meals and football tossing, and then we went inside the park to see the wonderful sights of Yellowstone.

The memories are worth mentioning because the past ups and downs of the family were shared with these members who supported us along the way. My family needed this time to be encouraged and energized by seeing their families again. One memory most of us would mention about the trip was the name of the ranch. It was at a place in the creek where it split off thus giving it the name Split Creek Ranch, which by the way to my family members reading, I looked it up and found it is still there. Maybe we need another family reunion! Anyway, one particular family member videoed most of the trip for all of us on VHS tape. Her announcement as she would sign on would always have the location where she was at the ranch, but with a different name. As we watch the tapes, we love hearing Split Rock Ranch or Split Creek Rock Ranch or whatever she decided to call it that time. Absolutely hilarious, and it kept my spirits up laughing, not at her just with her about her struggles with the name. She has now gone on to be with Jesus, so these memories are priceless.

Another memory was getting all of us to see Old Faithful when it was time to go off. We waited for ever and the littles AND bigs were restless, so we decided to leave and head to the next sight. Again, this event had to do with the video camera. As we were about to the car, Old Faithful began what it does best, and started to go off. We heard it, and one of the cousins grabbed the video camera and began running with it, unbeknownst to him that it was on. So for about 30 seconds you see his feet and hear his huffing and puffing plus you can hear the geyser in the background. He slows down and brings the camera up, only to have the battery die before it focuses on the geyser. We all watched it when we got back and were laughing our way through the week with the effort and the technology fail. By the way, these memories are ingrained in all of us because they are talked about when we see each other.

The last time together? Well, that was a possibility, and we could never repay our family for their efforts. But we are family. Efforts are worth it because we are family. That same family still makes effort to see each other, and it is so very special. I will not be able to stop and name off all the family members that came, but to each of you, I am so thankful for you and what you did. Once again, the memories are priceless. Those that could not come, prayed for us, and I am a direct result of God’s healing power through the prayers of others. So they were there in spirit.

Families pass on memories. How do we have God’s Word so preciously passed on to us? Through those that share it with others. God asked us to, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,” Mark 16:15. We do not have to be preachers to share God’s love and what He did for us. He is telling us to share it with the cashier, the waitress, our children’s teammates’ parents we sit next to at every game, our friends and neighbors. Whomever we cross paths with, we need to make sure they are certain where they will go if their life ended tomorrow. It is a challenge to be a witness, because what if it was their last time…