March 3, 2003

CYBERCOLUMN:
The house
___By John Duncan
___I am sitting here under the old oak tree, meditating with mirth about a house. Recently I visited my two aunts and stayed in the house my grandfather built in the mountains of North Carolina. He built a white two-story house in 1938 with the help of a carpenter and friends. Times sure have changed. Who could find friends to help build a house today?
___The pastor/poet George Herbert from 17th century England once spoke of a house in The Familie: "But, Lord, the house and the familie are Thine, Though some of them repine; Turn out these wranglers, which defile thy seat, For where Thou dwellest all is neat."
___Walk through this house of my heritage, and you will find the basics—a living area with a fireplace, five bedrooms, kitchen, dining room and bathroom. As a ma

JOHN DUNCAN

n with a wife and three daughters, I cannot imagine one bathroom for the morning rush hour. That might give new meaning to the word "chaos." These days spoil us, but not so in 1938. You took what you earned. You took what God gave and thanked him for it. O, for days of simplicity! But, Lord, the house and the familie are thine.
___The porch serves as the best part of the house. On summer days, you can sit on the porch or, better yet, swing on the porch swing. I used to like to lie on the swing and rock while the breeze blew in my face. Once, I was rocking along, and the chain broke. The quick ride to the ground jolted me into a mental state of sudden alertness. Thankfully, I was not hurt. Professionals fixed the swing. Nothing lazily passes time like that swing. You could dream the day away. Though some of them repine.
___The dining room formed good memories. I smell the freshness of corn on the cob, mashed potatoes and green beans straight from the garden near the house. I smell homemade biscuits still warm from the oven. I taste pan-fried steak with gravy that makes you want to lick your lips. Then, of course, homemade chocolate pies from the hands of my grandmother added a sweet taste for connoisseurs of delightful desserts.
___Stories found their way around the circle—basketball in a barn; walking home from school in the snow; milking the cows; flowers for the decoration; what a good feller so and so was; skipping English class to play basketball; working at the knitting mill; planning picnics; the creek; the spring water; the mine across the mountain; the furnace; family pictures, smile, at the count of three and say "Cheese!"; about Grandpa Duncan; about the delightful taste of the chocolate pie; about skipping English again (the good stories always get repeated); about shortcuts across the mountain; about my great grandmother Ibbie praying at an open window so loud you could hear her down the mountain.
___Families need more prayer. "To clasp the hands in prayer," theologian Karl Barth once muttered, "is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world." Prayer combats disorder.
___I needed prayer the day I was ordered to eat green beans. My aunt had long helped me smuggle green beans under the table so that I would not have to eat them. I detested green beans! I was creating disorder in preparation for the smuggling of green beans when my father commanded me to eat at least one green bean! I protested, but slowly slipped that green bean into my mouth and into my throat when I gagged. Disorder reigned. My father met me in the bathroom. Prayer ensued or discipline, if you know what I mean. Sin takes prisoners. What memories in that house.
___Things change, though. Not far from the house, I miss the grocery store. The corner store where Scottie (the guy who owned it) worked and sacked groceries is gone. In the old days, guys would sit on the bench outside, smoke cigarettes, spit and talk. Wal-Mart moved in, but you can still get the news.
___I went to Wal-Mart the other day and heard the news. The greeter has heart trouble, a blood clot in her leg and should not have been working on that cold day. Some lady walked in and announced, "I finished school." Seems her business closed, and she lost her job. She also lost her husband to an affair. Sin knows no limits. She divorced him, got her GED, started college, finished, and now teaches school. "I didn't think I'd make it," she said as she smiled, "but God has blessed me." God's grace tumbles over us like snow from heaven.
___Oh, the guy at the checkout stand broadcasted a weather forecast of snow. By the next morning, snow tumbled from the sky like glitter falling. Things change, but if you listen close, you can still get the news. I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same. Turn out these wranglers, which defile thy seat.
___The house has changed a lot. The pine trees beside the house have been cut down. The boards in the house creak. The basement floods. On cold days, drafts spew cold air. Nails ease their way out of the wall and need a good hammer to find rest.
___ My mind drifts back—1938; 1965; 1974; 2003.
___Imagine 1938: A man, a carpenter and friends: Pass some nails. Throw me some wood. Son, get down off that roof. Somehow, my dad climbed on the roof while the house was being built.
___ Imagine 1965: I am a boy sitting in a chair with my brother, holding a box of cereal ready to go home to Louisiana. "Son, don't slide on that rail." One favorite pastime was sliding on the rail down the stairs.
___ Imagine 1974: My brother and I throw a baseball and jump the huge boxwood bushes in the sloped front yard. "Son, don't tear up those boxwoods." Sometimes we would not make it over the bushes.
___Imagine 2003: Every night before you go to bed in that house, four things must happen—lock the doors, close all the blinds, read the Bible and pray. "Father, we thank you for love, life, liberty, grace and your goodness."
___Did I tell you that when hands are clasped in prayer that an uprising against the disorder of the world occurs? Did I tell you that what makes a house a house is faith? Did I tell you that order comes where Jesus calls? Did I tell you that my aunt had a vision of Jesus in a big blue sky standing over that house to protect it? Did I tell you how neat that house is, really?
___ God's protection knows no limits. For where Thou dwellest all is neat.

___ John Duncan is pastor of Lakeside Baptist Church in Granbury, Texas, and the writer of numerous articles in various journals and magazines





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