A Miracle in the Desert with Andrew and Thelma

We lived in Colorado Spring for 7 months while Billy was finishing up his 2 years in the army.  Then came back home and lived in town for 7 years … then we decided to build in the country and Billy found us this beautiful rolling hills ‘field’  🙂 with no road or anything else that connected to civilization and we broke ground in the spring of 1974. 

One of our first visitors to our field  🙂 was an old man on a tractor, wielding some fence building equipment and his name was Andrew Reineking. 

Geezer was here working on this particular day, early on … before we had hardly done anything and he was putting up fence to surround our property and here came good old Mr Andrew with an outstretched hand and hours to spare and he was ready and wanting to help and from that day on Geezer and Andrew were as thick as mud …

The kids always loved going over to visit the Reinekings because they were so different from most folks … even way back then.  They did absolutely everything the old fashioned way and from scratch.  They believed in spending lots of time just setting talking, just the two of them together and with visitors … and they had NO TV …
Family had given them one or two over the years and along the way … but it was Andrews theory that TV takes away from family time and relationships, so he would never allow one to stay.

I can remember going over to their home to visit and their hardwood floors and their very old fashioned furnishings and way of life. And Thelma’s kitchen … oh my goodness how I loved that old kitchen.
It was so relaxing just to drop in for a minute.  It was like dropping into another world, even for just a bit and the kids adored Andrew and Thelma.
When we’d pull up … whether we were going to visit inside or set under the big old tree in the front yard, Thelma would get out the checker board and a few other old fashioned games, which always fascinated our kids to no end and then she’d head to the kitchen for a big old glass pitcher and enough ‘glass glasses’ for us all to have plenty of fresh brewed ice tea….

They were the classic ‘old timey couple’ and you just couldn’t help but love every thing about them.  Andrew was a very tall and slender man and always in overalls and often a big hat and Thelma always had on a long print dress with a big old apron.  She was a very tiny woman … very plain…but pretty as a picture and she always had her hair in a little bun.  🙂  Her voice was so quiet and meek … they just both talked and acted so different.  They were strong Christians and belonged to the Church Of God in Metropolis and their faith just couldn’t be measured.

One day we were setting out under the big old tree in the front yard and Andrew was talking about faith and the power of prayer and he said, “I’m gonna tell you a story that you are not going to believe.  But I can promise you … this happened.”  He said, “We were on our way to California with the kids decades ago … and we were going across the desert and the old car broke down.”  He said, “We were miles and miles from no where and there was no traffic at all.  So I got out and checked over several things on the car and found the radiator to be out of water.  Of course we had no water with us and there was no place to get any, so I stood there and thought about what I was going to do.  And then it dawned on me, so I got Thelma and the kids out of the car and we made a circle beside the car and I said, “Now, the radiator on this old car is dry and no telling how long it’s gonna be before someone may come along and help us.  So we’re going to pray as sincerely as we know how and ask God to help us with this situation.”  He said they all prayed for a little bit … he put his family back in the car and turned the car on….and it started right up.  They were able to get to the next town with no problem.  He said … now I know that you know…that’s just not possible … but I can promise you … that it happened just that way.

Andrew was the type of person that if he said the sky is falling … the first thing you’d think to do is grab a big board and hold it over your head.  Because Andrew would have taken a bullet … before he would have told an untruth …

Decades later … I thought I wanted to work at the Nursing Home.  I did several things,  trying to find my place after our youngest married.  Billy was working long hours and I just wanted something extra to do to help fill my time … so I went to Good Samaritan … applied for assistant activity director and was hired.  On the first day … I saw Andrew and Thelma and ran to talk to them … but one of the nurses told me they just rarely responded to anything and I got absolutely no response from them at all, they just stared straight ahead.  But later that day … one of the workers came to me and said, “You play piano, don’t you?  Why don’t you go in and play for the folks in the big lounging room.”  I said, “Well all I can play are church songs”…she said, ‘That will be fine…just play whatever you want and for as long as you want.”  So I went into the piano and I could see Thelma … right out in the middle of that big room … just staring off in a distance.  I thought ‘my goodness, how sad … she’s there but she’s ‘not’ there’.  So I just started playing “What A Friend We Have In Jesus” and right out of nowhere Thelma just began to sing …’What A Friend we have in Jesus, All our friends and grieves to bear’… without missing a lick.  I chimed in with her … and watched her as we sang together … a few others sang a little hit and miss.  But Thelma never changed her expression … but sang the whole song through without any hesitation of the words at all.  I thought … “My GOODNESS … she can’t communicate … but she has never forgotten the words to her old church songs.  We did several songs that day … and what a joy that was for ‘me’ … to know I was able to kind of ‘open a brief window’ for Thelma that day…

I only lasted 3 days at Good Sam … because old people were sitting around with their coats on … waiting for the ‘cab’ to pick them up and take them home or so they thought.  And some would cry because they had waited for the ‘cab’ for so long.  Some would try to get out and scream when you’d stop them.  I just couldn’t believe the things I saw … and I’m so soft hearted I just couldn’t handle it … so I quit after only 3 days…

I believe in the power of prayer. And I’ve prayed up more than one miracle in my life … And I know many of you have too…

Ok…I’ve been long today … but I just wanted to talk again about the power of prayer.  It’s real folks … and if you don’t have that kind of faith in prayer … you need to be wondering why … I’ve probably lost many of you by now… So let’s wrap it up for today.  🙂

This has been a birdseye view from Round Knob Canyon and the world of the Katydid…until next time…you are loved….