You know, today I was put in that situation where you see that lady stranded in the middle of the expressway and you have to make that decision whether or not you are going to help or if someone else will surely come along the way. Well, I made that decision to pull over without giving it much thought. However, afterwards, I wondered to myself what makes that a knee-jerk reaction in me? My response to someone's post on facebook was that I was raised right...and as I thought about it, it occurred to me that it was in fact very true and I felt led to share exactly what I mean.
I know that in life I have 'ragged' on my family for those tiffs that all families seem to have...you know when you just don't seem to see eye to eye on something. However, I am not sure that I have ever written about how absolutely marvelous they are. So, today, I am going to. I am also going to tell it like it was an obituary. You know...that is when we seem to really share about how wonderful people were...long after anyone gets the chance to thank them in person for being that way. So, even though I KNOW they would not wish to be thanked, I am going to share it anyway...because, frankly, my family deserves it.
First, my Father and Mother, Bud & Linda Evans.
My dad was always involved in sports, loves coaching and mentoring, giving back to his hometown, and just being an all around 'man's man.' He connects with people very well. He can, for lack of a better term, 'shoot the shit' with just about anyone and has never met a stranger. Most of all though, my dad has been a wonderful son. I do not know many men who make sure that they are at their parents each morning for coffee...like clockwork, he always went to Mammaw and Pappaw's before heading to work. While the other fellas were headed to the coffee shop or going straight to the office, he always managed to stop by and make time for his mom and dad. That is the kind of respect that most people think only happens in the tv shows from the 1950's, but I am here to tell you that he IS that tv show and I am most honored to be his son.
My mom...she is what many people might call the modern day Mother Teresa. Now, she would be absolutely embarrassed to be called that and would also tell you that she is far from that, she missteps every day and is so thankful for the good Lord's grace and mercy. That might be true, but if I were to tell anyone who to emulate in the world...it would be my mother. I remember every Sunday we would drive out to the Texas County Rest Home (an group home for adults who in many cases worked at the sheltered workshop). She would take them to church with us (sometimes we would have 3 ladies in the car with Misty and me in there too). After church sometimes we would take them to get a treat at the Dairy Queen. Mom taught us that we were all perfect in God's eyes, and these ladies, though Misty and I (at a young age) couldn't quite understand how you would consider them perfect. Later on in life we understood, as they were as perfect to God as anyone else in the world. I also remember mom visiting the shut-ins from church, 'making' Misty and I sing on occasion when we would go to their houses, we hated that, but it brought those folks a lot of joy. One night, I even remember our mom going down to the county jail. I have not a clue who it was for, but someone had called for her to come down and help them. Misty and I sat in the car annoyed that someone else had asked mom for help...but looking back, that is what made (and still makes) mom so special. She is never one to think of herself first, but rather her service to others, and not to sound cliche, but she asks herself daily 'what would Jesus do?'. Finally, that is what makes her such a phenomenal funeral director. She really does care for EVERY person who comes through those doors...as did everyone in the family. If you take a look at her in a service, you will probably see her eyes with a few tears. She feels so wonderfully for every person...she laughs and she cries with them. She is an amazing person and what a blessing it is to call her my mom.
Then there is Pappaw, Clydie Evans, Sr. He was married for 57 years to my Mammaw Jean before she passed from this earth. In those 57 years they spent a TOTAL of 8 days apart from each other. 7 days in the 50's when Pappaw went on a moose hunting trip in Wyoming and then one day when Pappaw was in the hospital in Springfield and Mammaw had to come home. I drove her that day and she cried so much because she didn't want to sleep without him by her side. They were madly in love until her last breath. If I can only be blessed to have a love half that strong I will count myself as a most fortunate man. However, I think the story that tells of their love is not of their own, not of the love they showed to families at the funeral home (which they really thought EVERY family that came through that door as their family), but actually over 50 years ago in a furniture store. This is something that will possibly really upset my Pappaw that I am telling, but like I said, I am not wanting to tell everyone when he is dead. I want to thank him for it while he can still get the gratitude he deserves.
In any case, in the 50's he and Mammaw had a furniture store. It made them a good amount of money at the time, or so they thought. It was just prior to the recession in 57-58 and people were buying all sorts of furniture on credit. Well, they were purchasing it, but to ensure the creditor got paid, Pappaw and Mammaw had to sign for it as well. Well, the bottom fell out and people stopped paying their bills. So, the creditor, who was a fellow from Lebanon, came down and told Pappaw that they needed to go to each of the people's homes and collect the money or repossess the furniture. One by one they would go to those houses week after week. The guy would pull up and Pappaw would go in. He knew all of those folks by name and had great relationships with them all. He would come out of the house and get back in the car. The guy would ask him how it went, get out his list with two columns on it and Pappaw would tell him to move their bill into his column. Those people didn't have the means to pay for it and he would figure out a way. This went on until the pages were basically transferred over to Pappaw and Mammaw. I won't mention the amount of money it was, but will say that it wasn't chump change. I know that he and Mammaw spent the next 20 years paying back that money, making sure it was always paid on time. They got it paid off and never made a fuss...as it was the right thing to do.
There are many of these stories that I could tell about my family. They are downright wonderful people. We tend to disagree on a few things that really impact me; however, I KNOW they are such awesome folks and deserve a lot of gratitude for being such great and caring people. I also know that I did not get to the rest of my family, but this took longer than I anticipated, so I might just have to continue at a later date.
All in all, thinking back to today, I helped push a lady out of the street. Good deed? Yes. What I should have done? Yes. Living up to the standards set before me? Not even close...but trying every day to get closer to that mark. Because...yes...they raised me well.
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