My dear sweet Aunt Ollie! I think God must have had an awfully good time creating a blueprint for her life and then molding her into the beautiful lady she was. I can picture Him smiling at his handiwork and thinking, "Well done!" I'm sure it wasn't hard for Him to shape Aunt Ollie's life because she never seemed to have gotten too far from His touch. And it showed in her sweet smile, her forgiving attitude, and her simple lifestyle. You could hear it in her kind words, her soft chuckle and in her clear, ringing voice as she led singing in the little church she loved, Good Hope Baptist. You could see it in the work of her hands - especially her beautiful quilts and her flowers that seemed to fill her yard. I even remember tasting the work of her kind hands at those Sunday dinners at her house.
Some Sundays long ago, Mama would decide we were going to Good Hope. Now, Aunt Ollie never knew ahead of time we were coming. But after services, often led by Aunt Ollie, we went to her house for dinner. Never once did she seem flustered that she had five extra, unexpected people to feed! Instead, she'd get down her biscuit-making bowl, which always intrigued me, and make us delicious biscuits to go with the rest of the meal she served - undoubtedly, most of it from jars of canned vegetables and fruit. While she was cooking and visiting with Mama - and Uncle Bryant and Daddy talked by the fireplace - it was an adventure for me to "roam" through her log-constructed house. Ah, what wonderful memories!
I was saddened that Aunt Ollie's eyesight grew dim in her latter years, but I have a feeling that she had stored away countless images of the truly beautiful things in life. I know that she could always "see" Uncle Bryant, Winnie, Glennie, Young (as I called him), and all their families. I think she never lost sight of her parents, her beloved sisters and brother and their families . . . her friends . . . Miss Hattie's place . . . Aunt Sallie's homeplace . . . her flowers. . .and her little white church that sits in one of the most serene places I've ever been - a place she called home.
Some Sundays long ago, Mama would decide we were going to Good Hope. Now, Aunt Ollie never knew ahead of time we were coming. But after services, often led by Aunt Ollie, we went to her house for dinner. Never once did she seem flustered that she had five extra, unexpected people to feed! Instead, she'd get down her biscuit-making bowl, which always intrigued me, and make us delicious biscuits to go with the rest of the meal she served - undoubtedly, most of it from jars of canned vegetables and fruit. While she was cooking and visiting with Mama - and Uncle Bryant and Daddy talked by the fireplace - it was an adventure for me to "roam" through her log-constructed house. Ah, what wonderful memories!
I was saddened that Aunt Ollie's eyesight grew dim in her latter years, but I have a feeling that she had stored away countless images of the truly beautiful things in life. I know that she could always "see" Uncle Bryant, Winnie, Glennie, Young (as I called him), and all their families. I think she never lost sight of her parents, her beloved sisters and brother and their families . . . her friends . . . Miss Hattie's place . . . Aunt Sallie's homeplace . . . her flowers. . .and her little white church that sits in one of the most serene places I've ever been - a place she called home.
And now she IS home . . . and her faith has become sight - literally! She relished God's beauty here on earth, and she lived a truly beautiful life, but we can only imagine what she's enjoying today!
When God reached out to her for the last time on this side of eternity, I'm sure He was still smiling as He said to her, "Well done, Ollie!"
When God reached out to her for the last time on this side of eternity, I'm sure He was still smiling as He said to her, "Well done, Ollie!"
What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see, when He takes me by the hand and leads me to the promised land . . .
1 comment:
I wish I could have known her! She sounds like a very special lady!!
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