A Wood Burning Stove and Spring Water

 My granddaughter loved  me to tell her stories of my childhood. “Nana, tell me about the olden days,” she often said. She would crawl up in my lap after her bath and just before she went to sleep I would tell her a story. I would go back in my memory bank and pull out a story of how life was for me growing up on the “Knob” as it was called. I would tell her of how my mother cooked our meals on the wood burning stove in the kitchen. “That old black woodstove was used for everything,” I told her. It helped to warm the house in the winter, kept water hot for household use, and served as a warm and private corner for baths in the wintertime.

In the warming oven over the top of the stove were always a plate of biscuits a little girl like me could find to dab on a pat of butter and a spoonful of jelly for a snack. It tasted so good. You see, we didn’t have store-bought snacks. I never knew what potato chips were and the only time I got candy was during Christmas. “You didn’t have a Free Musk-a-teers?” she asked. “No, honey, I didn’t have a Three Musketeers candy bar until I was almost big.”

There was such a sad expression on her face as she said to me, “Nana, if I had been growed-up, I would have bought you one at the Dollar Store.” That was her favorite place to shop.

That old cook stove served well in the summer for canning fruits and vegetables to feed the family through the winter along with all its other uses. I remember well the dozens and dozens of jars, all sizes; I had to wash for my mama to "can" her fruits and vegetables in.  How I hated that job! It took a lot of water to wash them and we didn’t have the conveniences of water and a sink in our kitchen. “Where did you get the water?” she asked. “I had to pack it from our spring.”      

She looked up at me with a quizzical look on her little face and asked, “What’s a spring?”

"The spring baby girl is a basin of water that stood at the foot of the hill. The water ran from under the hillside and stayed in a hole that nature made all nice and clean. All the spillover water ran on down the hill and into a creek at the very bottom of the hill. The water was so cool and tasty when it came from the spring."

“Yuck!” she said. “I would never drink water from a hole.” With a smile I told her, “Good, because a spring is not clean now.” That only brought another question from her. “Why is it not clean?” she asked. “Well honey, people do not take care of our streams now. They throw litter everywhere and do not put their waste in containers provided for it. We bury stuff in the ground that eventually gets into the streams of water that is under the ground and it contaminates the water, makes it not clean to drink."
 “God don’t like that, does He, nana.”

“No, baby, God doesn’t like that.”

“God likes nice things, don’t He, nana.”

 “Yes, that is why He made Heaven so much more special; because He knew people would mess things up like they did here on the earth,” I told her.

“I bet He don’t allow the angels to throw candy paper down in Heaven, don’t you think so,” she said with a yawn.

I looked down to speak to her and her little eyes had closed…”Good-night, baby.”

“Good-night, nana, I love you.”  Then, she was out...

Our children grow up, but our time spent with them are lasting memories. The little granddaughter I am speaking of is twenty-four years old now and has a child of her own. However, I remember our times together as if it were yesterday. I often find myself wishing I could go back to those years, but I know that can never be. We cannot recall time  just as we cannot erase words we have spoken. God gave us these little ones to love and provide them with the right care… Yes, they should have discipline as long as it is within excepted limits, and  necessary. The rod and reproof give wisdom, but the child left to himself  bringeth his mother to shame…Proverbs 29:15. They should be loved, cherished, fed, and clothed. Then when they are no longer children, you will be able to look at them and honestly say, “I did my best.”

How nice this world would be if only we adults could see it through the eyes of an innocent child. It would be wonderful! Full of surprises and fun. No evil and no bad people… That is the way I see it!

 I received an e-mail one day with this poem. I kept it because I thought the words were so beautiful. 

           

        Children’s Eyes

What kind of world it is my friend that little children see?

I wonder if they see God first because they just believe.

Do they see strength in caring eyes who watch them as they play,

Or maybe love through gentle hands that guide them on their way?

Do you think they dream of future times when they would be a king,

Or just enjoy their present life while with their friends they sing?

 Do they see the acts of kindness done for people who are poor?

Is the very best of everyone what they are looking for?

And when the day is over as they close their eyes in sleep,

Do they look forward to tomorrow with it’s promises to keep?

If time is what children see then it should be no surprise,

The world would be a better place if we all had children’s eyes.

~ Tom Krause~

Printed by Ishaah’s Inspirations with permission

Have a great day in the Lord,

                                                Mary Frances King