The Introduction

There are times we meet people who may have profoundly changed our existence long before we were born. This is about such a case. It's from Christmas, 2009.

Dave brought an elderly couple to meet me after worship service this past Sunday morning. I am introduced to many people but the Cheathams were special. I found out that Brother and Sister Willis Cheatham knew our parents from college and that he sat on the same row in chapel as my mom and her cousin, Gena. (It was alphabetical seating and their maiden names were Chesshir.) They know our Uncle Bill, one of the best uncles you could have asked for as a kid. But the most intriguing story I heard was that this husband and wife, before they were husband and wife, had double dated with our parents, before they were joined in matrimony. I don't know about you but I cannot envision my folks as a couple before they said, 'I do.' Maybe something happened that night causing Roger Hawley and Nelda Chesshir to gaze into each others' eyes a little more soulfully. All I know is that I'm here and it could be the Cheathams had something to do with it. So, I'm eternally grateful for the gift of birth as should be Dave, Scott, Zach, Meagan, Ben, Karis, Seth, Nathan, Harper, and Noah, Hawleys all.

I like connections. Yesterday, I was turning into a Starbucks several blocks from Dave and Sally's when Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse Of The Heart drifted out of my radio. It has to be the most overly dramatic tune ever to hit the airwaves but that's not what came to mind. Automatically, I thought of Rachel Nicks and the airport in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Eleven years ago, we were waiting for our flight back to the US from a mission trip and the conversation turned to an anti-drug presentation we had both seen in chapel services. The vignette centered on a mock funeral with the cast singing Total Eclipse Of The Heart and for some reason, Rachel and I began belting out our own unique version right there in a crowded terminal in the heart of Central America. It was probably embarrassing but we were too tired to care and fatigue can spawn silliness. The point is that I associate Rachel, and an unbelievable mission trip, with Bonnie Tyler and I smile when I hear that song. It's a link, in some small way, like a genealogy. Both Matthew and Luke connect the Israelite generations in a chain that led to Jesus. That was important to the Jewish believers as they could trace the Messiah back to Abraham in the book of Matthew and Adam in the Gospel of Luke. I find that since my folks passed away, I am so grateful for the letters or pictures or furniture left behind as reminders of my mom and dad. Now, the Cheathams, through an outing with another young couple six decades ago, have been added to my emotional treasure chest. I just need to decide if Bonnie Tyler can fit in there, too.

Applicable quote of the day:
“We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they're called memories. Some take us forward, they're called dreams.”
Jeremy Irons

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
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E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com