The Little Yellow House

 

If you're my Facebook friend, you might have noticed that three weeks ago, I took an eight day road trip to Kansas. Normally, I only visit my brothers and their families in Wichita during Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays but not being able to go on my usual Vietnam mission left me with time on my hands. Dave had recently missed his high school reunion in our hometown of York, Nebraska and wanted to make the four hour trip to touch base with a few stops along the way. (See my last week's blog about the World's Biggest Ball Of Twine!) One thing we did in York was pose at our elementary school and the four houses in which we grew up. That's the shots above taken decades apart- I'm the smallest human. This was the first house we called home in Nebraska; 1012 Kiplinger Avenue. I was happy to see it has retained its yellow hue.

We moved here from Brooklyn where Dave and I were born and here is where my memories really begin. I was four and everything in the world was exciting. Dad was a preacher, Mom was a stay at home mom at the time, Scott was a few years away, and Cecelya and Sandy had not yet joined our family. This house was owned by Dale and Raylene Larson. He was the President of York College and I grew up with their children, Aloha and Zane. The house was small but it had some great features! The living room wallpaper was the Grand Teton Mountains and the ceiling in the room Dave and I shared had the solar system on the ceiling that glowed when the lights were out. Our neighbors in the next two houses, the Gurganuses and the Thomases, both had York College structures named after them so we were in high society. Dad's office, the church building, was fifteen seconds away by foot and I loved spending time there- I was especially fascinated by the baptistry. This is where we lived when Dad started cutting our hair and taking us to YC basketball games- pretty sure we got in for free! Mom, as the preacher's wife, played hostess for every baby and bridal shower for every young lady in our congregation. It was here where our folks had us skip meals so we could give the money saved to missionaries, something they explained but I did not get at the time. Fast was how you ran, not something you went without to a little boy. I somehow survived measles/mumps/chicken pox on this piece of land. School began for me in this house and I've never left. Even at five, I walked to Willard School, five blocks away. And then after about four years, we moved to another house, the first our parents ever owned, and more memories of growing up and being shaped would follow. That's several more pictures and stories for another day. 

It's never meant that much to me that I was born in Brooklyn, although someday I would like a Brooklyn Dodgers hat. (7 1/4 if you are interested!) Do you know how many times we are told Jesus returned to Bethlehem, His birthplace? None! I do wonder if He ever had the urge to travel the six miles down the road when in Jerusalem for Passover. On the other hand, we are told about Him returning to Nazareth where He had been brought up and how He was referred to as Jesus of Nazareth. His reception in His hometown was anything but warm; they wanted to kill Him after His synagogue proclamation that He was the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecies. Dave and I had no such hostile reaction- we just slipped in and out. There are two things I did notice from the respective pictures posted above. The first is that in the 2021 photograph, I'm wearing a Nebraska Youth Camp shirt with HOME emblazoned on the front. I didn't think that out beforehand but it was appropriate. (Shoutout to my WCS colleague Jay Roberts for this addition to my wardrobe!) The second thing that hit me is that my picture pose is unchanged from that autumn (I'm wearing flannel) day many moons ago. Hair pushed over my left eye, hands in pocket. The one thing different is I am missing Mom's motherly touch and Dave is missing Dad's. That's OK. They gave us the foundation to be able to stand when they were gone and much of that grounding came in these four yellow walls.

Applicable quote of the day:
When you finally go back to your old home, you find it wasn't the old home you missed but your childhood.
Sam Ewing

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1