Earthquake Preparedness

The earthquakes and aftershocks in Puerto Rico prompted me to think about Mother's three-year habit. 

            The earthquake of September 3 of 2016, impacted my mother greatly. In response, to finding plates, dishes, and drinking glasses broken on her kitchen floor, she now takes her “earthquake precautions.” (See photo at right.)

Each evening, her final task in her kitchen cleanup continues to be placing a wooden spoon or scraper in each set of cabinet door handles. She speculates the wooden utensil would hold the cabinet doors closed in an earthquake measuring around 5.5 on the Richter scale. One can never accuse Mother of not thinking or planning.

With tongue in cheek, I say Mother recites this in her head, Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day an earthquake will come.” The accurate quote is from Matthew 24:42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” Bottom line, she wants to be prepared, knowing she’s done all she can to protect her breakables.

I jest about her consistent, yet somewhat obsessive behavior. But Matthew 24:44 reminds us to be prepared for the return of Jesus. Its unscheduled nature requires us to be sure we have made a commitment to Jesus trusting Him to forgive our sins.

Jesus told several parables about trustworthiness with the missions, the responsibilities, and the talents we have been given. Mother has been blessed with a good mind and an insatiable desire to read. She reads primarily the Scriptures. This recalls the humorous response from a little girl about her great granny’s ardent Bible reading, “She’s studying for her finals.”

The woman who practices earthquake preparedness to protect her breakables also memorizes Biblical passages. Psalm 37: 31 says, “The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.” Standing stable, strong and having “no loose ends” in anticipation for  the return of Christ is a pretty good strategy for spiritual preparedness.

Another 95-year-old has been quoted as saying, “We should live our lives as though Christ was coming this afternoon.” The man was the 39^th president of the United States, Jimmy Carter.

Let’s listen and take heed to these two nonagenarians.

Remembering Helen Ladema Foust Rice

Helen and Virgil Rice at my parents' 50th
wedding anniversary in March of 1998.

           This January marks the 92nd anniversary of Helen Ladema Foust Rice’s birth. Helen was born on January 11, and spent her early childhood in Fairfax, with her sister, Waunetia, who was 13 years older.*
           On September 2, 1950, Helen married Virgil Rice, the nephew of my maternal grandma, Gladys Rainey Smith. They moved to the Big Bend, living near the Arkansas River, a little over one mile south of the Belford School House. It became Grandma’s mission to be sure Helen had entered a relationship with Jesus. Grandma always deemed that most important in the lives of her loved ones.
           Grandma told Helen scriptures such as “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” and “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” and “The soul that sins shall die.” Helen told my mother that Grandma made the truths of scripture come alive as they never had before to her. She told Mother, “I was afraid to drive to town without being saved.” Helen soon received Jesus, trusting Him to forgive her sins, and give her His righteousness.

Maxine Hines Rice, Gladys Rainey Smith, and
Helen Foust Rice at Daisy Rice's home on
Thanksgiving in the 1970s.

            Helen began her walk with Jesus in the early 1950s. It was never a flamboyant one – just a consistent walk with faithful obedience. Helen worked behind the scenes – inviting people to church, encouraging those who had become discouraged in their walk with the Lord, and bringing her joyful spirit to many.
            Helen served faithfully caring for little ones for many years in the church’s Sunday School nursery. Her petite frame never kept her from holding precious babies and loving and teaching the youngest toddlers.
            She prepared and served at scores of dinners for grieving families that she helped host with other women at the church. Her love, compassion and prayers were always stirred into the delicious dishes and desserts she baked for sorrowful people.
            For several of his high school years and beyond, my brother-in-law worked for Virgil, Helen’s husband, and Rick, her son, in their agriculture operation in the Bend. Ben, my brother-in-law, said he hardly ever sat down to one of the many, many meals that Helen prepared for him without her making the comment, "I hope it will be fit to eat." Every meal proved to be tasty and nourishing.
           Money management skills have always been a must. Helen could have given a proven effective short course in personal finances. She knew how to use each dollar to the max. Yet she kept a beautiful home and dressed impeccably when she went out. Even when working at home, she looked “put together.”
           I have written about planting tomatoes in the flower beds behind Mother’s home. I was inspired partly by Helen. She liked egg plants so planted them in her beds on the north side of her home.
           In Helen’s last years, she battled cancer, requiring many chemotherapy treatments. She faced courageously the side effects of the treatment. Her indomitable spirit led her to bake cakes for neighbors and friends going through difficulty in Fairfax, where she and Virgil had moved prior to his death. She insisted on attending church as often as she could even during her prolonged fight against the vicious disease.

Helen and my parents, Bernyce and Edmund
Gates, posed for a 2002 Christmas photo at the
 home of Angie and Ben Bradley in Oklahoma
City. 

            Helen’s desires for the best for her husband, son, grandsons, and her daughter-in-law determined so many of her day-to-day decisions and activities. Barbara, her daughter-in-law, developed a closeness with Helen after her marriage to Rick. Helen shared all types of tips for caring for a home and loved ones. Barbara and I laughed many times over Helen admonishing her to “press” the jeans of Helen’s grandsons, Tyler and Caleb, because ironed jeans looked so well-kept!
           The last time I saw Helen was just days before her passing on March 20, 2005. Rick and Barbara were caring for her in her home at Fairfax. It was so hard for her to be confined to her bed and not able to be the hospitable hostess she always had been. Even in her weakened state, she maintained a spirit of joy, not because of the terminal illness, but because God had blessed her with a family who lovingly cared for her.

In May of 2019, this squirrel
reminded me of Helen. It was at the 
bunk feeders, appearing to pose. This 
was my favorite shot.

          My mother laughs every time she relates this funny incident that occurred when Helen and Virgil** were newlyweds in their early 20s. Helen and Virgil had a pet squirrel that they kept indoors in their home. (As a child, I loved that house because it had a spacious wrap-around porch.) Mother said they had a box of chocolates. While Helen and Virgil were away, their pet squirrel took each piece of chocolate and placed them meticulously on the tops of the drapes in their living room. The heat melted the chocolate and redecorated the draperies!
          For this reason, every time I see a squirrel on Mother’s place, I smile and think of Helen. The scampering squirrels remind me of Helen. She never appeared lethargic but was energetic in her endeavors. The squirrels provide for their needs in the harshest of times. Helen’s forward thinking met the needs of her family, home and church. Finally, the squirrels do exactly what God created them to do. Helen's life was lived doing unselfishly what He planned for her.
         Paul wrote, “…If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Helen illustrated this beautifully in her walk with the Lord.

*Sketch of Helen’s Ancestry in the Early 20th Century                 John A. Foust, the grandfather of Helen, his wife and four children including Helen’s father, Lawrence Lee, were counted in the 1900 U.S. Census. Helen’s father had been born in Lamont, Oklahoma in 1896. His father was listed as a farmer around Lamont in Grant County in the census record.                  Ten years later, Lawrence’s family had relocated to Kansas. In the 1910 United States Census, his father, John, and mother, Charlottie, were recorded along with their nine children ranging in age from age 17 down to 6 months old. John rented land and farmed in the extreme northeast corner of Cowley County.                 Lawrence married Helen’s mother, Cora Martin when he was 19, and she was age 15. Their marriage license issued in Noble County of Oklahoma required parental consent by his father, John and Cora’s mother, Julia Hough. **To access a blog posting about Helen's husband, Virgil Rice, go to: https://bernadeanjgates.blogspot.com/2015/05/an-example-of-humility-and-excellence.html

The Value of Vapor

            Over the last few weeks, I glimpsed fog outside the window as I prepared to feed the cats on several mornings. As I did a few light chores, some scriptures about vapor came to mind.

             In Psalms 39, David described his life span as “the measure of my days.” He spoke of the need to evaluate life and its brevity. Then he compared life to a vapor with these statements:

Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Psalm 39:5

Surely every man is vapor. Psalm 39:11

The only reference in the New Testament to vapor as a metaphor for “life” is used by James, the leader of the Jerusalem church that sprang up after the ascension of Jesus. James wrote of the humans who live with an unfounded, but prideful, vain conceit about the control they have over their day-to-day lives. In James 4:14, this bold leader, who would soon be a martyr, spoke bluntly,

You do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

 James, a half-brother of Jesus, had nothing written in the Gospels about his interest in the ministry of Jesus prior to the death and resurrection of Jesus. Yet following the resurrection of Jesus, James committed himself wholeheartedly to the Way. He embraced Jesus as the only Way to God because of his recognition that Jesus was the only one who could offer Himself up as a sacrifice for all humans - humans who could never free themselves from sin.

                Einstein’s theory of relativity, postulated time is relative. It does seem as we age, time moves at a more rapid pace. I recalled, during a meal at the farm, hearing Dad, around age 90, lean over to Mother and asked, “Where has the time gone?”

            The fog of the many recent mornings burned off so quickly. One morning, the vaporous, but thick fog persisted until around 10 a.m. Nevertheless, it soon disappeared. In literature, vapor is often used to characterize something or some event as fleeting and passing away.

            This is what Dad was saying. Even though he had lived over nine decades, much longer than others, and had been married to Mother over 60 years, the time seemed so short to him.

Big Bend Road - Of their 67-year-marriage,

Mother and Dad live the first 12 years just a half

mile south of this county road and the last 55 

years right on this thoroughfare. Yet to Dad it 

passed like a vapor or fog does!

             Psalm 90 is categorized as a prayer of Moses. Moses, the great lawgiver, asked God to teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. The scripture states

the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Wisdom can be defined as a reverential respect. If we are mindful of our limitations as mortals, we recognize we can only know God through His Word. We also understand we can only have that relationship with God through Jesus. Finally, Jesus tells us plainly,  If you love Me, you will keep my commandments.

            Undoubtedly, our lives are brief. In 2020, may we resolve to come to know God’s Word better and show our love for Jesus by obeying what His Word says.

Lord, as we begin 2020, enable us to realize the brevity of life – even our own lives. May we commit to cultivating a stronger relationship with You, nurturing it daily as we read Your scriptures, fostering an unwavering love for You that all can observe as we obey what we read.