Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: HISTORY (03/10/22)
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TITLE: Under The Apple Tree | Previous Challenge Entry
By Laurie Bahlke
03/18/22 -
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My bloodline includes German, Polish, Austrian, and French-Canadian elements. I have found letters and pieces of written histories that tell the story of how my grandparents met and the struggles they encountered while making a living and raising a family. The things that they encountered many, many years ago bear a similarity to the life I lead and even to the lives of my children. There was certainly strife, hardships and losses but also joy, hope and happiness.
History, as it has been said, does repeat itself. It is odd to me to think that and yet I see it. Most recently, I have been more aware of how much I resemble my mother in how I walk, the tones in my voice, the way I rub my nose. My father’s itch to always be busy and the color of my hair I can credit to him.
World situations are always changing and yet history speaks to us of times long ago when war, discord, and mistreatment of the preborn, the young, and the elderly have occurred. I am certain there are others like me, who are prone to worry and to be anxious but also have unique gifts for compassion, mercy, and empathy no matter what day they were born on or what they carry in their blood.
When my mother passed away, I delivered her eulogy. I showed those in attendance an apple and said to them the words my mother had passed to me, “it all started under the apple tree.” This was in reference to the family that gathered around her bedside, holding hands, and praying with her in the last moments of her life and her recognition that being pregnant before marriage was difficult but that her decision to give me life and start a family with my father was, in the end, her greatest accomplishment.
Time and time again, people find that what really matters in life is the family you create, the moments of kindness that are shared with others, and mostly, a relationship with God our creator.
At her bedside when death loomed close by, I read from the Bible that my mother had asked to be brought to the hospital. In it was a bookmark that lay between the pages of Revelation, chapters two and three. I said out loud, “Mom, I’m going to read from the pages you bookmarked,” and she nodded her head in agreement, too weak to talk. “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you; the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.” (NIV Revelation 2:10) I bent down and asked my mother, “Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God, and do you accept him as your Lord and Savior?” “Yes,” she whispered. “Mom, you are a daughter of the King and soon you will be with Him.” I held her hand, bowed my head and the room grew silent as even the constant beeping of monitors and the whirring of machines seemed to quiet too.
Her history is entwined with mine and the histories of those who came before her were, and are, also a part of me. Whatever woe I was born with has been tempered by rich moments of joy, love, and memory. I am a daughter of the King. Just as a fallen world came to pass because of another, more historic moment under an apple tree shared by Adam and Eve, redemption followed, by the blood of one who gave His life for all those who seek and follow Him. One day, I will stand before the Lord and I hope to hear the words, “You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and you have not grown weary.”
(Revelation 2:3).
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Thank you for a beautifully written account.