My First Glimpse of Him.

My Aunt Cherry and Uncle Steve lived in, what felt like to me, the biggest and best house ever.  Their beautiful blue house sat on the corner of McLeod Rd and Hwy. 261, in Paxville, SC, on "Answer Acre".  It was named that because it was the answer to her prayers.  They never locked the back door, and there were always Beagle puppies loudly barking "welcome" when you pulled up the drive.

I remember going into the living room, the biggest and best living room ever, with built-in cabinets and bookshelves, and going to the lower cabinets for my two favorite books there, "Andrew Henry's Meadow" by Doris Burn and a picture book of the movie "Jesus of Nazareth", which came out in 1977, directed by Franco Zeffirelli.  I was mesmerized by that book, often looking at the pictures for a very long time.  I specifically remember the picture of Mary when the angel Gabriel came to her to announce that she would be the mother of Jesus, and the picture of Jesus as a young boy, in the temple.  I remember his beautiful, pure eyes.

My Aunt Cherry gave me that book a few years ago, which was so very special to me, and also an honor.  She didn't give her books away, she practically had a library, with her name in the front cover of most.  But, she knew how much I loved that book.

She left this world last month, way too soon.  She spent over 1/5 of her life fighting an illness and complications that no one could fix.  She was even given two new lungs, through a literal miracle, and so her life on this earth was prolonged by that.  She died peacefully at home, on her Answer Acre, surrounded by her family.

I have thought about her life a lot in the last few weeks, and just the other week, I realized that my Aunt Cherry gave me something far more special than that book.  She gave me my first glimpse of Jesus.

My first introduction to the Savior of my soul was not in the pew of a church, but on the living room floor of her house, as I gazed in wonder over pictures of the Son of God even before I could read a word on the pages.

So, thank you Aunt Cherry.  Thank you for many things.  For teaching me about my roots.  For reminding me that I should always wear a slip with my dress.  Thank you for your pound cake recipe (even though I butcher it every time).  Thank you for the way you led the choir every Sunday, holding out the note longer than everyone else singing (I would love to hear you sing now).

But most of all, thank you....for my very first glimpse of Jesus.