Amazement on Easter Evening

Easter Day of 2019

                 What a glorious day this Resurrection Sunday was! My sister and brother-in-law met Mother and me for Sunday morning services. We truly celebrated as a family this year – no home renovation projects, no farm maintenance tasks, no cattle or cat emergencies. The shared preparation of the midday meal left no one harried and weary. Enjoyable and thoughtful conversation kept exchanges lively and purposeful at Mother’s table, as is the usual case. Mother always stressed good, uplifting table talk from our earliest days.

                After we said our “good-byes” and Ben and Angie pulled onto Big Bend Road, I walked up to check the cattle and get my daily count. I could hear Red Cow with an all-white tail lowing for her calf that is a “mini-me” of her. I could not see her baby bull. The other four red calves relaxed under one of the trees.

                Soon her lowing turned into bellowing. My sensitivity causes me to be alarmed when a mama cow becomes distraught over her missing calf. She ran to various parts of the south west pasture looking for her baby bull.

                My main concern had been for our one "replacement" heifer. I usually check cattle early each morning but attending church services had made that difficult. However, just prior to leaving for Easter services, using binoculars, I had seen her grazing ravenously.

                Red White-tail Cow continued stressing by being unable to locate her eight-day-old calf. As I walked back toward the house, I glanced back one last time. I could hardly believe what I saw - not the little 8-day-old red calf with his white tail. Instead east of the Big Pond, stood the heifer with a tiny calf standing next to her. 

                Hustling to the house, I told Mother the news about the heifer’s new calf. Clutching the pickup keys, I zipped out and grabbed the handle of the recycled red plastic coffee container with around a pound of pellets in it. (This is a throwback from my days of teaching and "celebrating success." I  reward each new mama cow with a pound of pellets.) Circling the area dubbed the "Bear's Den" around the pond, I prayed for the usually docile heifer to welcome me and the pellets I had for her. Sure enough, she never flinched a muscle but only glanced up as I approached.

                She heard me gently shake the pellets inside the red plastic coffee container.  As I spilled the pellets on the grass, the first-time mama advanced toward me. Soon she was consuming the pellets vigorously, I snapped a photo of the tiny calf. What an amazing Easter surprise!

Our little heifer - now a cow - with
her Easter Day surprise.

              I thanked the Lord for protecting our heifer as she delivered her first calf. I recalled how many times, Dad had called Dr. Charles Wills, DVM, when he had his vet clinic in Ralston. Yes, God had been gracious to Mother and me. my mind and heart was filled  with this verse from James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation of shadow of turning.

                As Dad’s old truck rumbled back around the Bear’s Den, I thought I’ll make one pass on the southwest side of the pasture. Red White Tail Cow was bawling loudly but the wind was dissimilating much of the sound. As I headed slowly toward Big Bend Road, a little head popped up for only a second. Stopping the old pickup, I hopped out and crept to the low place where I thought I glimpsed the little head. Sure enough, the red calf leaped up and scampered east with his white tail twisting. He stopped to look back at me. I popped my gloves together and told him, “Keep going. Get back to your mama. She’s looking for you.”

                As we topped the terrace, there was the Red White Tail Cow with her head lifted looking our way. As her little calf ran to her, I wondered what she thought. I knew she was not thinking of actions driven by concern for her.

                You have forgotten the Lord, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth. You fear continually all day long… Isaiah 51:13 (The Voice)

                     How easily we forget! One of my favorite happenings of the first Resurrection weekend is often called "The Road to Emmaeus." In Luke 24, Jesus fell into step with Cleopas and his companion - yet they had no inkling it was Jesus. They related to the risen Christ the events of the previous few days.They mentioned the angels telling the women that Jesus had risen , but concluded with the phrase, "but they did not see Jesus."
               During their discussion, Jesus caused their hearts to burn within themselves as He...opened the Scriptures. Luke stated in his gospel of Jesus's explanation of Himself based on Old Testament scriptures, that as soon as "their eyes were opened," Jesus disappeared from them. They were amazed that they had walked and talked with their risen Savior and didn't even realize it.
               We are often like Cleopas and his companion who loved Jesus but could hardly believe Jesus would really rise. Time after time we read of His faithfulness in the Bible. Over and over, He works on our behalf. Yet when difficulty crosses our path, we waver in our trust in Him to act on our behalf.

            Lord, no Easter basket could ever compare with the wonderful gift of a healthy new calf and its proud mama on Resurrection Sunday. But even more, thank you for the gift of salvation purchased by Jesus, Your Son. May we ever have hearts full of trust and gratitude for all You do moment by moment in our lives.

Our 2019 Easter Gift nestled in the grass.

Easter in the Bend 70 Years Ago

This  posting published originally four years ago. Yet on this 70th anniversary of its occurrence, it seemed a timely reminder of how Easter was observed so many years ago in the Big Bend. With all of the changes the 21st century has brought, the eternal truth of the resurrection of Jesus spans the decades, giving as much hope today as it did in 1949.

Easter of 1949 at the Belford Community Sunday School

                Easter is a fun, yet serious holiday to observe. Part of the excitement of the first spring celebration involves glorious egg colors, secretive egg hiding and hunting with beautifully decorated or theme baskets. 
               My maternal grandpa, Calvin Callcayah Smith, always questioned my sister and me about our “Easter frocks” since he thought we should have new, usually pastel, fashionable spring dresses for that special Sunday. He knew Grandma designed and created unique outfits for us to wear to church on Easter Sunday almost every year.

                Since that Resurrection Sunday on which Christ arose, Easter, the first observance of the spring season, superseded all other events of the spring season. This was no different in the 1930s and 1940s, on the east side of the Big Bend in the Belford community.

                My mother recalled the joyous celebration of Easter in 1949, at the Belford Community Sunday School. Many families attended the Easter service on Sunday, April 17, of that year at the Belford Grade School. George Megee, a school teacher who lived at Little Chief, served as the preacher for the Belford community.

                 In the Belford column of The Fairfax Chief, my grandmother, Gladys Rainey Smith, wrote “the service was well attended, with one conversion and one confession.” My mother recalled her uncle, Ernest Rice, made "public" the confession he had made privately earlier in the year.  That Easter morning, Harold Grimm, the husband of Thelma Hutchison Grimm and the father of Roy Grimm, Norma Grimm Hopper, and Donnis Grimm Morris, was converted -repented of his sins, turned to Jesus, and chose to follow Him. 

The School Board of the Belford Grade School during this era - Parris
Dooley, Elmer Rogers, the school teacher, Ernest Rice, & Harold Grimm

                 Mother’s extended family realized her uncle was ill, but no one knew this would be his last Easter. Daisy Rainey Rice, along with her children, Orlean, Hazel, Elmer, Virgil, and Dean, on June 18 of that same year, were forced to say good-bye to their husband and father. Less than two months after the joyous celebration of Easter at the Belford Grade School, Mother’s Uncle Ernest Rice died of cancer. As her aunt and cousins grieved, they also recalled the Easter Sunday service. Ernest Rice and Harold Grimm made public professions of their faith in Christ. The two men let the people of the community know that morning of their commitment to trust Jesus to forgive their sins and in turn, give Him their lives.

                In one of the Belford columns that appeared in a June issue of The Fairfax Chief, Grandma began the community news with a personalized obituary of her brother-in-law, Ernest Elias Rice. She commented on his spiritual state at his death with these statements:

          In January 1949, Ernest accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his own personal Savior, realizing that nothing but faith in the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ could save man from his sins. Ernest’s one desire was that sinners would accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, while there was yet time.

                One of Ernest’s descendants reacted recently to the death of a friend. He mentioned. how hard we humans work to acquire “stuff” and how brief life is. My cousin concluded with this profound statement about the way his friend prepared for his death.

His trust in God is everlasting and all that matters in the end.

                  Easter provides an opportunity to self-evaluate our own spiritual condition. Each of us have chosen our own way instead of God's way. That defines sin. Jesus came to die for our sins. Only He had the power to resurrect. He is the only one who can transform our lives as He did in 1949, for Ernest Rice and Harold Grimm, hard-working men who loved their families, gave back to their communities, provided leadership in their local school, and modeled the only way to eternal life through Jesus.
                                                                                                   

The women of the community concocted their favorite homemade ice cream. Most families kept their own milk cow. The cream-ladened milk from each family’s cow, usually a Jersey, provided the basis for rich ice cream unrivaled by any created today. The Easter services for the Belford Community culminated with a sweet treat for all. Dad always associated ice cream with a special occasion. Sugary confections like candy or ice cream were a rare delicacy in those days. Barbara Walker, the author of The Little House Cookbook, commented that old recipes for desserts were not as sweet as most 21st century palates desire. The photograph on the left features four Benders on the steps of the Belford School during an Easter celebration. Harold Forbes, Edmund Gates, Jr., Gilbert "Jr." Morris, and Rosemary Goad Dilbeck are pictured enjoying ice cream cones.

Naming Names...Reluctantly

The Marlin Crowder Third Grade Class of 1983-1984

        The last blog posting entitled “Remembering a Much-Admired Mentor and Teacher” drew questions about the students in the group photograph. Even though I am not on Facebook, I often learn of comments. The goal of this week’s posting reveals the names of students in that third-grade class thirty-five years ago.
       Ironically, my eyes popped open last Sunday morning with the thought bouncing around in my head, I should have listed the names of those third graders to have written a more complete posting. The second thought reflected my incomplete memory of the students' names. Upon pulling out the picture a couple of weeks ago, I looked at the faces and discovered several faces for which I could not articulate a name. Always valuing knowledge of each individual student, I elected to name no students. Being unable to name just one student was unacceptable to me.
      To my credit, viewing most of the faces prompted names to come to mind. Then I resorted to pulling out a yearbook from Fairfax Schools. Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, the yearbook closest to the year of the group photo featured the students in their second-grade year – 1982/1983. I had to admit reluctantly there  were two students whose faces I recall but for whom I was unable to produce names.

Kneeling: Robert Drebenstedt, Franklin Neff, Rosemary Lujan, Dana Hunt, Craig Backus, Penny
McKinney, Wayne Terry, Anna Wilson
Middle Row: Miss Gates, Stephanie Harjo, Tucker Barnard, Gailor Lee, Tonya Bell, Allenda,Williams,
 Matthew Eves,* Travis Hutchens, Manon Mashburn, Mrs. Rice
Back Row: Dawn Stevens, Terry Eicher, Brandy Potter, Rachel Cowan, Burlin Looney, Joe Ballard,* Kristin Brock, Heather Morris, Freda Terry

Here are some interesting facts:
20% of these students still live in our school district
20% of these students’ children were taught by me
Some of the successes of these students – excellent parents, some are nearing 20-year milestones in their marriages, achievement in careers such as restaurateur, counselor, high school coach, etc.
I interact with some of their children as I volunteer at Woodland Middle School this semester.
      In the previous blog extolling the good Mrs. Ruby Rice did in our community, I mentioned the pride she would take in the accomplishments of her former third graders. In Romans 14:7, Paul wrote, “No man lives or dies to himself.” Any attainment we make in life requires so many others to make it possible. In Romans 16 in the Bible, the Apostle Paul uses the final portion of his letter, citing several people who helped him in various ways.
       One of my favorite quotes by Isaac Newton, the 17th century English physicist, is “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” Newton is credited with binomials, laws of motion, proposing the force of gravity, the principles of calculus, and the invention of the reflecting telescope along with innumerable other achievements. Yet this phenom tied his discoveries directly to the success of other lesser known scientists.
       May those of us who follow Jesus as Lord (boss) live out Proverbs 16:3 giving Him wholeheartedly the credit for anything worthwhile we accomplish. That’s the Ruby Vinita Martin Rice way.

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

*I am indebted to Kristin Brock, by way of Lou Brock, for the names I could not recall. Thanks to both of them.

Remembering a Much-Admired Mentor and Teacher

      Around this time of year, Ruby Rice comes to mind because April is her birth month. On her 96th birthday, I wrote a tribute about the overwhelming influence she had on my teaching style and skill, explaining how I knew Mrs. Rice for my whole life. Finally, I told of how we shared a deep commitment to Jesus. This blog posting, She Taught Me Almost Everything I Knew About Teaching Third Graders can be accessed at

 https://bernadeanjgates.blogspot.com/2017/04/she-taught-me-almost-everything-i-knew.html

      Recently, as we approach her 98th birthday, I recalled so many faces of third graders impacted by her. During our stint of teaching third graders together, she read aloud to all third graders daily as I taught first and second grade music. This resulted in her developing a bond with all third graders each year.

      This week while feeding cattle and thinking about Mrs. Rice reading daily to the students, I remembered how much she valued students enjoying her shared reading time. The face of a member of a nationally-recognized roping team popped into my memory. He loved to see Laura Ingalls get the best of Nellie Olsen!

      Many of her students are vital forces in our communities of Fairfax and Ralston today. Mrs. Rice taught our district's elementary principal as well as so many of my former teaching colleagues at Woodland Elementary School. Our pastor was taught by Ruby Rice. Business owners in our communities reaped the benefits of Mrs. Rice’s rigorous expectations insuring learning basic math facts, necessary reading and grammar skills. Throughout our area, there are upstanding citizens in healthy marriages, raising good kids and making this a good place to live. A myriad of them spent their third-grade year in Mrs. Rice’s classroom at Marlin Crowder Elementary School.

      I recalled a group photograph of our combined third grade classes. Pulling it from its storage envelope, I saw several fresh-faced third graders in the photo. They produced children who proved to be excellent students in my third grade classroom.

The Group Photo that Triggered This Blog Posting. 

      As I slowly perused the children standing between Ruby and me, I calculated the collective success among that class of third graders. How many more groups of third grade students had Mrs. Rice taught? Many of those students matured into adults whose successes ripple and echo through the decades that have passed over these 35 years. It is astounding how many people, in various parts of our nation, have been influenced for the good by these former students taught by Ruby Rice.

      Mrs. Rice valued her life-long marriage to her husband, her much-loved four children, her cherished grandchildren and her extended family. With diligence, she worked conscientiously as she taught each group of third graders. Yet to her dying day, Ruby esteemed, as most-treasured, her relationship with the Lord. As life ebbed from her, she clung to the promises in His Word until she saw Him face-to-face.

      Jesus said in Luke 6:40, The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher. I  have had face after face “scroll” through my mind. So many of Mrs. Rice’s students have followed the principles she taught. She would look at each of them sideways with her kind brown eyes and with her slight smile and comment, “I’m not surprised at how well you’ve done.”

      Those of us whose lives have been impacted by Mrs. Rice, as mentor and teacher, have a mandate to carry on her legacy. The world has changed so much since her days of teaching, but her powerful God and His Word are unchanging. For that reason, may we embrace and live out King David’s words in Psalm 31:24:

Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart,

All you who hope in the Lord.