Passing Hope Forward

"God is magnificent; He can never be praised enough. There are no boundaries to His greatness. Generation after generation stands in awe of Your work; each one tells stories of Your mighty acts."—Psalm 145:3-4, The Message

When it was time for mom to downsize a few years ago, the only piece of furniture I was really interested in was this small rocking chair—not quite child-sized but not quite at home on someone’s front porch either. But for years, it was just right for mom as she sat in the early morning sun with her coffee while clutching the leash to her dog who was "exploring" out on the deck.

And except for the dog, this chair is also how I remembered it being first used by her dad and my grandfather. A sturdy New England herdsman, Puppa Stevens has to get the credit for my early morning rising-ness. Every morning, regardless of weather, he was up by around 4 or so to tend to the Holstein herd in the barn; waiting to be fed, and not waiting so much to be milked in time for the early morning milk tanker from the dairy. (Proof positive: Puppa’s hands featured crooked fingertips from years of grumpy Holsteins and their hooves.)

After finishing round one of his chores, Puppa could often be found quietly rocking in that chair in the farmhouse's kitchen, sipping a cup of instant coffee—perhaps a place of refuge, of quiet prayer, and of processing what was ahead for the rest of his day. Just looking at that chair now helps center any restless part of me on Puppa’s early morning quiet rhythm of rocking, meditation, planning, and processing yet-to-be-solved problems…and then leaving it all in God’s hands even while putting one foot in front of the other.

The rocker also triggers memories of a lot of Puppa’s other wonderful traits, including the fact that though a relatively quiet but internally strong man, whenever “How Great Thou Art” would be sung in church, his voice seemed to rise above all others in enthusiasm. I loved this, long before I even knew what it meant to be a Christ-one. There was something incredibly appealing and infectious in Puppa’s simple sincerity.

And on this crossover Sunday where Thanksgiving meets Advent, that rocking chair serves as a reminder of what it means to have been incredibly blessed with a Godly heritage—from which came an enthusiastic love for singing, and God, and seeing Him every day in nature, and through the sole doorway of His Son (another one of Puppa’s favorite hymns was “Are Ye Able, Said the Master”)—that has helped to lay down a solid bedrock for this daily Journey. Helped, because Puppa’s beloved wife Kathleen also carried the same mantle of Love, and both passed it along with a quiet power to family and who knows how many other friends and acquaintances.

While having that kind of family heritage is a treasure, looking at Puppa's rocker helps remind me of something even more valuable: That no matter how any of us got to the point of becoming a Christ-one—even perhaps against all odds, with not much of a heritage at all—how we live, and move, and pray, and treat others, and sing right now really matters. It can be just the heritage that God uses some day down the road to help someone we love, work with, work out with, or may never meet in this lifetime find the Way the Truth and the Life for themselves.

It’s been said that Billy Graham once remarked, “The reason I like 'How Great Thou Art' is because it glorifies God. It turns Christians’ eyes toward God, rather than upon themselves.”

A perfect segue, from the season of thanks and gratitude attitude to the first Sunday in Advent—the Sunday of Hope, of looking Up rather than all around, and of hope lived out (as best we can) and shared. And, of seeking to reflect the Blessed Hope who is Jesus—the "hopes and fears of all the years" converging in the climactic Love act—the Light of the World being sent as Hope into darkness, Who walked with man and understood every one of our frailties, Who left the blueprint for following in His footsteps, Who willingly was born to willingly give His life and then overcome the grave so that all who believed could live fully and eternally…and Who even now still humbly comes knocking on the hearts of all in the world He created.

Wait… I think I can hear the heavenly response being cued up even now, and probably with Puppa leading the way, too:

“Then sings my soul, my Savior, God, to Thee: How great Thou art!”

“You are the Day Spring, You are the Morning Star; Creation's splendor speaks of who You are. You are Salvation, You are the Joy of the earth! Restoration comes—Hope of the broken world.”—Jennie Lee Riddle