The Loft is open, come on up!
Hi Lofters! We have two winners from last week’s giveaway! Sheila, who left a comment on Leah’s blog; and Trina, who sent in her comment via email. Please email Arabah Joy at arabahjoy(at)gmail.(com) with your mailing address so she can get the books out to you. Thank you!
This week at The Loft, our topic is ‘heroes’. I didn’t have to think twice to come up with my heroes. This was a super easy write for me. The heroes I want to share with you today are my parents, Wayne and Barbara Colwell.
My Daddy was an only child, the son of Frank and Eula Colwell of Blairsville, Georgia. Born in 1936, Daddy struggled to live as a newborn. In fact, he was ‘laid out for dead’ on the hearth in the old home place. It was only because one of his aunts saw the tiny bundle move that he was not buried. He grew up to be a strong teen, who worked hard on the family farm and his Dad’s feed/grocery store. In June of 1952 at the age of 16, Daddy was struck with polio. It sent shock waves through the small Blairsville community. After spending 5 weeks at Grady Memorial Hospital, enduring spinal taps and separation from his parents, Daddy was transferred even further from home and family to Warm Springs Rehabilitation Hospital in Warm Springs, Georgia. Warm Springs was made famous by President Franklin Roosevelt, who rehabbed there after contracting polio.
Daddy was told he would never walk. He spent 5 months at Warm Springs where, in fact, he did learned to walk with the aid of a full leg brace and crutches. Daddy told of rolling his stretcher off the second floor balcony when he and other boys were stretcher racing. He walked the remainder of his life using crutches and a brace.
Daddy just home from Warm Springs ~ 16 years old
It never occurred to me that Daddy was handicapped. He did most anything he wanted. He was one of the first real estate agents in our county, walking all the properties, and staying actively engaged in any construction required on his properties. He ran for, and was elected sole commissioner of our small mountain county. The first time someone attached the label ‘handicapped’ to Daddy it was like a punch to my stomach. Daddy was independent, determined, and a man of great character.
My Mother was born in 1938 to Newman and Laura Parker, also of Blairsville. She had 5 brothers and 2 sisters. They were a close family who were actively involved in the education community. After graduating from high school, Mother worked at the elementary school as a secretary, and then worked at Union County Bank for a time. When I was six, she came home to be a stay-at-home mom. It was such a blessing for our family. A talented, self-taught seamstress, Mother made all of our clothes. She made certain we learned to swim and ride a bike. She did the same for her grandsons.
Mother was Daddy’s right hand from the time they married in 1958. In fact, after Daddy passed away in 2004, she said to me that she was certain God placed her on this earth to help Daddy. It had been her calling, and she lived it well. They were quite a team, and each other’s best friend. They served our community in ways that will only be evident when we step into heaven.
From my parents, I learned to be honest, faithful, to persevere, and to give a good day of work for a day’s pay. They taught me the value of a good name/character. I learned that family is more important than worldly pursuits. They taught me to love Jesus and His church. They also taught me to give to others out of the abundance that God has given me. There is no way to number the greeting cards that Mother sent over the past 20 years. It was her ministry. At my Daddy’s funeral, time and again people shared with us how he paid their house payment to keep them from losing their home. The owner of the local Sears retailer shared how Daddy had, on more than one occasion, come into the store, asked the owner to deliver a refrigerator or washer or dryer to a specific home, but not to disclose who had bought it. We heard story after story of how Daddy and Mother had helped others in our community. Each story a testimony to lives well lived, and legacy intentionally created.
Wayne and Barbara at Wayne’s 50th class reunion June, 2004. Taken just 4 months before Daddy died.
So today, I am grateful to my heroes, my parents. I can only hope to leave a legacy half as beautiful as theirs.
Now it’s time to link up!
Next Week’s Topic: “Potluck” (It’s that time again! Link up a favorite post you’ve shared on your blog and surprise us!)
Add Your Link Here:
[inlinkz_linkup id=455762 mode=1]
About #TheLoft
The Loft is the place for conversation, community, networking, and Christian growth.
Each week we provide a topic to start the conversation.
PLEASE NOTE: We want to foster community and transparent conversation with one another, just like we’d do if we were meeting in real life. So we ask that your link stick to the weekly topic and that you mention The Loft in your post. Thank you so much!
Monday night, at 9pm Eastern, the linky goes live and all week you can link up your post on that week’s topic.
We’ll have fun topics, serious topics, practical, soul-ful, holiday, and so, so much more…we can’t wait to get started! This is not only a great way to connect with others, it’s also a fun and easy way to establish a writing habit. If you aren’t a blogger, you are welcome to join in by leaving your comments in the comment section.
So grab your coffee mug and come on up! Hang out for a bit. We betcha you’ll be glad you did.
To Participate:
1. Be creative. Feel free to use words, photos, video, audio, your family pet, whatever, to communicate on the weekly topic. But please stick to the weekly topic 🙂
2. Listen twice as much as you talk. If you leave one link, visit two. Trust us on this one~wink.
3. Be a community. Include #TheLoft graphic and/or link back in your post so we can find each other. Also, share the great stuff you find when you visit around…we’ll be doing the same.
When you link up at The Loft, your link will appear on 5 blogs! We’d love for you to visit The Loft co-hosts and know who we are:
