Awesome Aunt Agnes

This past Sunday we celebrated the life of my Aunt Agnes. It was a bittersweet day with memories of the past alongside celebrations that she is safely home with her Lord. Isn't that always the case? Good for the one gone on but not good at all for those of us left behind. We miss her smile, that twinkle in her eyes, her gentle ways, her love.




This morning I was thinking over all the things she taught me: everything from how to apply makeup to how to peel a boiled egg. Start with the big end where the pocket it - it works every time. But, more than what she taught me was the example she lived before me. I remember the summers she paid me to come and play with my cousins. Seriously, she did just that. They were only a couple of years younger than me but she paid me to come and stay at their house every day during the summer. I thought it was a big time job but looking back I suspect she did that to keep me from having to stay home alone all summer.

My mom worked about a mile from their house so I would ride to work in the carpool with Mom. The plan was for me to walk the mile down to their house in the morning; no big deal for a twelve year old girl. The problem was the dog. He lived on the way and I had a big issue with dogs. So, Aunt Agnes stopped mid-way of preparing for her work day and drove up to meet me every morning. That dog wasn't going to hurt me, but she knew I was scared. That is how she was; quietly giving of herself. It may seem like a small thing, but to me at twelve years old it was huge.

Aunt Agnes was one of five aunts on my mom's side of the family. They were all great in their own ways, but during my childhood, she was the most hands on. I guess you could say she was 'user-friendly.' She and my uncle often visited us and it was always a happening because they were so much fun to have around. I am sorry I didn't take the time to sit and tell her and Uncle Jr how much they mean to me; that they have been two pillars in my life for as long as I can remember. That they have always encouraged me and loved me, even in my worst of times. But one day, she and I will hook arms and take a walkabout in Heaven where I will reveal all my heart thoughts to her.

I realize that in the busyness of today's world, families are not always as close as they were when I was a child. The Sunday trip to Grandma's house doesn't happen as often as before. You know, those Sunday afternoons when the grownups sat around in chairs outside and talked and laughed and ate good food while the kids ran around playing silly games and establishing clubs and forts. There was an acceptance and a freedom in knowing we were much loved. Cousins were in a class all their own and it did not matter the age difference, we all had something in common: we were family.  Of course that did not mean we were free to act anyway we wanted to. Nope, Mama Sosebee was quick to keep us in line at her house. But to me, that is just one more indication of her love for us.

Mother once told me that in all the years they were together as a family, she never heard one of my aunts have harsh words with another. And in turn, I never heard my mom say anything negative or critical about any of them. I, personally, find that amazing. The bond of love and friendship was birthed in God and showed in their everyday lives. That is the core of what they have taught me. Unconditional love; commitment to family; concern for the lives of others; and being there. Always being there. There is strength in a family that stays true to God and to each other.

I pray today that I can be hands on and user friendly to those God has placed in my life, that His love will be free to flow through me.  His love surpasses all hurt, offense, wounds and grief. Today my prayer is for my Uncle Jr and his family; that God's love and comfort will reach deep into their spirits and bring His peace.