Picture of the day - January 12, 2008

"Taking a trip down Memory Lane"

Photo by Rick Rouse. Every time I visit my wonderful mother in her Widener Valley, Virginia home, I end up taking a trip down Memory Lane - and I mean that quite literally. You see, when Washington County set up their 911 Emergency Services program a few years back, they decided that every little dirt road and lane that had at least two houses on it had to have an official name - and the one that mom and dad lived on was given the name "Memory Lane"! In a way, I suppose that's a very appropriate name for their road since I have so many precious memories of times spent with my parents down there. Dad was a multi-talented individual who could go from entertaining you with his amazing guitar pickin' to having you rolling on the floor after telling one of his many funny stories (which were all true by the way). Everyone who knew my dad dearly loved him, and he is greatly missed by each and every one of us. Even though he went to be with the Lord over seven years ago, when I drive down Memory Lane towards "the house" I still catch myself looking over at the porch to see if he's sitting in his old chair, tapping his fingers on the wooden arm as if keeping time to one of the countless songs that he always loved to play. Of course he is never sitting there, and that's actually a good thing. After all, as much as I miss him, I know that he's now pickin' and singin' with the angels up in heaven, and he's doing it without all the pain and shortness of breath that he had to endure for far too many of his 82 years on planet earth. I know I'll see him again some day, and that makes my trips down Memory Lane so much easier to take than they would be without that comforting assurance. And then there's my beautiful mom, the best mother that God could have ever given me and my brothers and sister. Like dad, she has her own set of amazing talents, especially when it comes to making crafts of all types and hand-sewing quilts that could easily command a place on a museum wall. Oh, and she is also quite a gifted "talker" - and I mean that in a good way. Words could never describe what this special lady has meant to her family and friends over the years, and she is still spreading her never-ending supply of love around to everyone she comes into contact with each day. But the part of her life that is the most precious of all is the way she has lived it for the Lord, leading countless people to accept Him as their personal Saviour down through the years. There has never been any doubt about mom's salvation, and she was never a bit shy about telling others about it and telling them how to get it for themselves. But even if she hadn't told a soul that she was a Christian, everyone would know it anyway simply by the way she lives her life. Some day mom will go on to meet up with dad, and she'll no doubt fit right in as she sings along to all the wonderful old hymns they used to sing together. But for now she's still alive and well, and we can see her any time we want simply by taking a trip down Memory Lane. And what a wonderful trip that always is!     Visitor Comments... Name: Phyllis Helton Town: Bristol, VA I love it. When I got my hubby, he was living on Lovers Lane.   Click here to comment on this picture.   Visit the POTD Archives for previous "Pictures Of The Day"!     Submit a photo of your own!            Why I publish the "Picture of the Day"