As a child I had always felt the presence of God, I loved looking at his pictures that hung on the walls of the old plantation homes that each of my grandparents lived in. It seemed that many homes had some kind of picture of Jesus back then. My parents were not church goers, but rest assure he had a place in our home as well, but my Portuguese grandmother ( Vovo) was a faithful woman of prayer.
I always felt safe knowing he was there watching over our home and family, I would often stop and stare at his face which looked so kind, and gentle. His eyes seemed to follow me wherever I moved; we would play a game of peek-a-boo together just Jesus and me. There was just something about his eyes that captured me; it was as if he could see right through me.
My mother's side of the family was Catholic; I still remember the old statues of the saints displayed openly in their yards and gardens, with pretty flowers surrounding them. I always felt they should have gone to saint’s heaven to rest in peace, especially when one could no longer tell them apart. They were sun damage, and moss appeared, due to the weather, yet they faithfully held their positions despite their appearance.
I will never forget the life size ceramic statue of Mary in the corner of my aunt's living room. I remember Mary holding a ceramic bowl filled with plastic flowers in her hands. My cousins who lived there totally disregarded her presence, but as for me I dared not misbehave, because I knew Mary was somehow related to Jesus in some way, and he was sure to hear about it.
Some days her bowl was filled with water and my cousins totally convinced me it was her tears. I found out later it was holy water, not Mary's tears as I was gullible enough to believe *smile*. I would stare at the beautiful rosary that hung around her neck, I asked my mom could we please have a Mary in our home, but she mumbled something about my dad being a protestant.
As little child I never understood about Catholic, or protestant, but somehow when I looked upon the face of Jesus, I just knew what the face of love looked, and felt like. Today as a christian woman of God, I continue to be mesmerized by everything my Jesus is, and forever will be, my unchanging savior who continues to be the same yesterday, today, and forever.
I often wonder what ever happened to that life size statue of Mary, and the unrecognizable saints in the garden.
Copyright © Written By: Lorie A. Yocum
I always felt safe knowing he was there watching over our home and family, I would often stop and stare at his face which looked so kind, and gentle. His eyes seemed to follow me wherever I moved; we would play a game of peek-a-boo together just Jesus and me. There was just something about his eyes that captured me; it was as if he could see right through me.
My mother's side of the family was Catholic; I still remember the old statues of the saints displayed openly in their yards and gardens, with pretty flowers surrounding them. I always felt they should have gone to saint’s heaven to rest in peace, especially when one could no longer tell them apart. They were sun damage, and moss appeared, due to the weather, yet they faithfully held their positions despite their appearance.
I will never forget the life size ceramic statue of Mary in the corner of my aunt's living room. I remember Mary holding a ceramic bowl filled with plastic flowers in her hands. My cousins who lived there totally disregarded her presence, but as for me I dared not misbehave, because I knew Mary was somehow related to Jesus in some way, and he was sure to hear about it.
Some days her bowl was filled with water and my cousins totally convinced me it was her tears. I found out later it was holy water, not Mary's tears as I was gullible enough to believe *smile*. I would stare at the beautiful rosary that hung around her neck, I asked my mom could we please have a Mary in our home, but she mumbled something about my dad being a protestant.
As little child I never understood about Catholic, or protestant, but somehow when I looked upon the face of Jesus, I just knew what the face of love looked, and felt like. Today as a christian woman of God, I continue to be mesmerized by everything my Jesus is, and forever will be, my unchanging savior who continues to be the same yesterday, today, and forever.
I often wonder what ever happened to that life size statue of Mary, and the unrecognizable saints in the garden.
Copyright © Written By: Lorie A. Yocum
I am sorry I have not been able to keep up with my visits to your blog, this was my first week back to work after being on medical leave for two months, and it has been a bit overwhelming trying to get back into the the swing of things.
12 comments:
That picture seemed like it was you looking at Jesus' face...Lots of memories and that's great that the seed of faith was planted early in your years. Have a great weekend and God bless you.
What a sweet story from your childhood. I really enjoyed reading it. I'm glad God used those to make you aware of Jesus and start to grow your relationship even then.
It's amazing the impact those types of things have on us. Growing up my little Baptist family wasn't big on any type of statues or icons. My aunt married an Italian guy who wore gold jewelry. That's about as flashy as it got around our parts. :)
I've been a little over-whelmed this week myself with volunteer "opportunities" Just catching up on all my friends.
Praying for you,
♥ Joy
I just happened to find your blog. I love how serene it makes me feel.
The title of your blog caught my attention because I too have a blog called Engouragement is Contagious. I am new to blogging since Aug. of this year. But I am meeting such wonderful friends.
Glad to meet you,
Lee Ann
How beautiful that you knew at a young age there was something more about Jesus that was yet to be revealed to you and I know He was because I can hear it in your writings. You are truly blessed and called by God to be a witness for Him.
Pray you are feelig better.
Love you, my Christian Sistah,
AliceE.
So very lovely, I love you my friend.
Thanks for sharing your wonderful thoughts.
I have fond memories of the stained glass window in the church I attended as a young child. I loved the colors and felt God's presence especially through those marvelous colors.
Sis you don;'t need to worry about NOT visiting mine, I KNOW how you feel..and I know in spirit you are here..LOVE YOU
I'm MOVING TO HAWAII! Thats FINAL! When I hot the lotto.. be ready! I want a lil house near the beach. LOL
HuGZ
Get some sleep!!
Love ya sis
It was so nice to reminisce with you. It is nice getting peeks into each others' lives. Thanks for sharing those precious moments with us.
Take time to heal - my thoughts are prayers are with you.
Rachel
What a beautiful story. As a youngster I had a 24" statue of Mary that I received for my First Holy Communion. I remember always putting fresh flowers (and weeds) around her and making clover crowns etc. I used to love to do the "May" alters in the month of May, which was the month for Mary. I often pray to Mary and your story brought back many memories of my own. Thank you for sharing. Love you. Janet
That is so sweet! I remember being in awe of the statues also. I always felt close to Jesus as a child. I nevr questioned other people's faith. What an impact those simple things have on us as children. Those seeds sown when you were so young, helped form your faith walk that it is today. This blog entry was so filled with childlike innocence. I loved it!
Loved your precious post, Dear ~ My Daddy had a picture of Jesus over his bed. But I wish there had been more around like you had. I love his pictures now. I hope you are better now, sorry you had to go back to work! Love and Hugs to you ~
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