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Monday, March 19, 2012

seeing beauty through another's eyes


With all due respect to Mr. Emerson, I'd like to take a little poetic license  and make that  "Never miss an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful"... through the eyes of someone else...
I hope you won't mind.

This past weekend, my husband and I traveled out of state to the funeral of his grandmother.  We visited with family my husband hadn't seen in years.  It was an opportunity for him to show me places from his childhood as I listened to his, and other family member's, memories. To put pieces together that helped mold him into the man he is today. I met his uncle Ed. He was a man of few words, and pretty much kept them to himself.  Not the kind to just walk right up and engage you, but once he got to know you, you could see what a kind heart he had.  I knew of, through stories from my husband, the farm his uncle Ed had worked on all of his life and I asked for a "tour" of the farm.  

As four adults and one little girl climbed into his gas powered "golf cart" he drove over what seemed to me as miles and miles of ground.  He named every plant, every kind of animal he used to raise, showed me 2 ponds and a couple of streams on his property.  I hung on his every word.  Not because I'd never seen crops, (I have farmers in my family)  but because I was seeing this through his eyes.  This land was so much more than his livelihood through the years.  It was his passion.  Time had not been kind to his body, but he found strength and comfort in this land.  Though he wasn't much of a "church goin' man", I got the sense he knew of God, not so much from his people, but felt his presence from his handiwork.  I'm grateful I was able to experience this through his eyes.

Update:  June 7th this giant of a man was laid to eternal rest.  I consider it an honor to have met such a great man with a kind heart.   He will truly be missed.  




14 comments:

  1. Wow! Love the license you took. Isn't it beautiful when you meet someone who just knows their Creator through His handiwork, and that's enough. What a gift you were given to see it through your husband's uncle's eyes.
    Thanks for linking up and sharing.
    Chris Ann & Kristin

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    1. Thank you so much! I do consider it a gift to me. I am also grateful that Chrissy chose me to be a part of the LoveFeast Table link up with this timely prompt!

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  2. Dear Jeanette:
    I've just seen Uncle Ed's farm through YOUR eyes and can feel his love of the land he tended all his life. Farmers work all their days to coax a livelihood from the earth, and most are great stewards of the land. I bow my head in great respect to him...and send loving hugs to you for sharing your experience. I can tell, through two short paragraphs, that it greatly affected you. Thank you for sharing it with us.
    xoxo
    Donna

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    1. Thank you Donna, my dear friend.
      I, too have an uncle Ed...or Eddie as our family calls him. He has since gone to be with the Creator but he was a farmer also that loved the land. I think, the land he loved here in this life was only a taste of what he is now experiencing!

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  3. Lovely post my friend. I received my package, thank you again, I love it xo

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  4. Thank you Katherine. So glad you received your giveaway! (always worry until I hear that it arrived safely) Enjoy!

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  5. It's so wonderful when we take the time to do something for someone else. You can bet your Uncle Ed was thrilled to bits that you wanted and cared enough to spend time with him while he shared his stories and his land. You're pretty special!

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    1. Thank you Alicia. It's never wasted time when you stop to see things through another's eyes.

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  6. What a great post!

    ~Samantha
    http://www.thepeanutsgang.com/2012/03/gathered-thoughts-party.html

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  7. Reading this for the first time. It brought tears to my eyes that the woman I love took such an interest in something that was so deeply important to me. I was "along for the ride" but it's obvious I missed so much.

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    1. Ahh... I know who YOU are. My sweet, sweet husband. You, my love, are my light! Thank you for caring, and thank you for reading my blog, and thank you for your love.

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  8. What a wonderful experience to gain from what others may have seen as a sorrowful time.

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    1. Thank you Janelle. It was a beautiful experience.

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