A Thanksgiving Like No Other

A Thanksgiving Like No Other

Have you experienced a Thanksgiving like no other? 

If so, was it a positive or negative thing that made it different?

Our family has historically been traditional when it comes to major holidays. Basically, the same setting, same menu, and mostly the same people. 

Several years ago, our Thanksgiving celebration was completely turned on it’s head. Plans were underway. The menu was set. Our college sons were confirming their expected arrival times. The countdown was trotting along according to plan … until we got the call. My father was in the emergency room—suspected heart attack. 

Daddy was the long-established patriarch of the clan—even to many of our cousins’ families. At first, we believed this to be a hiccup in a week that was full and bubbling with anticipation. Not so.  

Doctors confirmed—Daddy had had a heart attack. My mom, brother, husband and I gathered at the hospital consulting with doctors, as they calculated the seriousness of Daddy’s condition. It was determined needed to be transported to a heart center about forty-five miles away.

His condition was stable so the doctor suggested we all go home for the night while he was transferred and checked in. Next morning my brother took Mamma to be with Daddy and I went to school to teach my seventh and eighth graders, planning to head for the hospital at the end of the school day. 

Mid-morning, our assistant principal pulled me out of my classroom to inform me that Daddy had another heart attack and wasn’t doing well.

As quickly as possible I drove to the hospital, praying all the way. I arrived to find Daddy in good spirits, joking with the nurse, but was informed he had experienced multiple heart attacks. He was in a holding pattern, awaiting an ambulance to take him to the main heart center a few blocks away. They had not had room for him the night before. 

The nurse told me they were waiting for an ambulance which was about forty minutes out. I could see the concern on her face and found it hard to believe we were in ICU waiting for an ambulance. Others of our family had gone ahead to the Heart Center.

I looked at Daddy, then the nurse, who was not leaving his side. I prayed. Then I said to the nurse, “Call 911.” 

Can you imagine? We’re in the ICU of a large hospital and the nurse is calling 911. It worked.

Within five minutes they were loading Daddy into an ambulance. The team of doctors and operating room at the heart center were ready and waiting for his arrival. 

By the time I got there his open-heart surgery was underway. I and several other family members waited and waited. Into the evening, the surgery ended and a couple of us at a time were allowed to see him briefly. What a huge relief that he made it through, but was now in a fragile state of recovery.

In a quiet darkened waiting room my mother, brother, a niece, and one of my sons reclined as best we could on chairs and couches, settled in for a long uncomfortable night. But none of us were interested in the restfulness of our own beds until we were confident our loved-one was out of the woods. 

During early morning rounds, Daddy’s surgeon settled our fears updating us that Daddy was in pretty good condition for all he had been through and that our vigil could end. What a magnificent Thanksgiving morning! God was saying, “Yes,” to our prayers. 

We each had another brief visit with Daddy and notified appropriate extended family members of his condition. With grateful hearts we put our heads together and plotted out our Thanksgiving Day plan. 

My brother’s former college roommate, Pete, had invited us to crash in his nearby apartment. I called my husband, Guy, who was on standby at home. The day before, he had arranged for a traditional Thanksgiving meal to be prepared by a local grocery store. He was to pick up the feast and head our way. 

We left Daddy in the capable care of specialists and gathered at Pete’s apartment to celebrate Thanksgiving. Turkey and all the fixins covered his table. My mother, my brother with his wife and three college age children, Pete with his two young adult sons, and Guy and I, with our two sons, encircled the table and clutched hands to pray. 

Around that circle I saw faces with moist eyes. We were unshowered, tired, and looked it. But there was a radiance we shared which was beyond explanation.

Who was going to pray? We stood there waiting, each one paralyzed with emotion. Finally, through his own emotion, Guy spoke up and offered up a prayer of gratitude for God’s love and goodness—for His tender care and provision—and most of all for giving Daddy a new lease on life. 

This was a Thanksgiving like no other. 

Daddy, with his namesake great-grandson

Daddy was seventy years old at the time of this experience. God graciously gave him eighteen more years and, except for the last couple of those years, he had exceptionally good health. He and Mamma experienced the joy of having a relationship with all eleven great-grandchildren, none of whom were born yet at the time of his heart attacks. We are a grateful family.

Have you experienced a Thanksgiving like no other? Please share in the comments below.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved-ones!

©Copyright 2018 Connie Wohlford

God knows, y'all!

God Knows, Y’all!

Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Matthew 6:8 [He also knows what you want.]

Last week while chatting with friends, I began lamenting over the weather forecast for the upcoming Saturday− 85% chance of rain in the town where I was planning to sell my books at an outdoor arts festival.  I had already paid the nonrefundable fee of $50 and dreaded the thought of setting up in the rain for a show that would likely have only a handful of browsers and shopper.

When I realized I was sounding like a negative grumbler it occurred to me that God is in charge of the weather. And besides, He’s the One Who called me to do what I’m doing− write and sell my books. My bemoaning was surely not honoring Him. So I came to myself, looked at my friends, threw my hands in the air, and in my naturally southern way, declared, “God knows, y’all!” They agreed and we laughed together.

The next day while thinking about the fact that God truly knows, my thoughts turned to an experience I had had several months earlier where He clearly showed me that truth. It happened at my 40-something high school class reunion. I’m still blown away by what happened that night.

An old classmate came over and sat down with my husband and me and said he wanted to tell me something. I eagerly listened as he began describing an old photograph he had bought in an antique store a few years back and he thought I would like to have it.

As he continued on, I knew the exact photo he was talking about and it was all I could do to hold back tears. In fact a few began to leak no matter how hard I tried.

The picture was of my brother, Tommy, as a sophomore, sitting in the locker room before a baseball game. It had been taken by a yearbook staffer and held a major spot in the yearbook that year (1966) as the sports section intro page.

Very puzzled, I asked my former classmate how in the world he came to find it in an antique store and where. A few years earlier I had been told that it was in a box in storage and would be given to me when the box was emptied.

This photo had been given to Charles Fretwell, a highly respected man in our city, who wrote a monthly column for our local newspaper. When my brother, Tommy, was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 19, Charles visited him and my parents and asked if he could write about Tommy and our family’s experience. His column for that edition was titled, “Tommy Edwards Puts on the Badge of Courage.”

Then after my brother lost his battle with cancer, at age 22, Charles wrote about Tommy again, commending his quiet courage and faith in God. Charles obviously thought highly of my brother and admired his “quiet courage” as he expressed it.

A few years later, my husband and I were visiting Charles in his office and I noticed, hanging on the wall, the picture of Tommy-- nicely framed, and with a caption, “Tommy - Quiet Courage.” I recognized it immediately as the one from the yearbook.

I said, “Wow Charles, you have the picture of Tommy!”

He commented about how he was so pleased to have it and we reminisced a little about days gone by.

Several years later Charles and his wife both passed away and I was sent word from one of their daughters that when they came across the photo of Tommy, which had gotten packed away, they’d send it to me.

Then a few years later, at this reunion, you can imagine my surprise when I was told it was found in an antique store. My classmate didn’t remember the city or even the state where he’d discovered it. But, God knew.

I said to him, “God had His eye on that photo for me and kept it safe all these years! It’s just incredible!”

He agreed and said how pleased he was to give it to me and wouldn’t even let me reimburse him for the price he’d paid. I’m still amazed every time I look at the photo of my dear brother. It truly encapsulates his quiet nature and unassuming personality.    

Little did we know, at the time the photo was taken, that he would one day exhibit such quiet courage as a young man struck with cancer in the prime of life. His faith in his Savior sustained him and was a witness to his college friends as well as to our community.

Some may say, “Big deal. It’s just a picture.” I would respond, “True, it’s just a picture. And I could have lived out my life never seeing it again or owning it and that would be okay. It’s not like I thought of it often or fretted over it. I did not.”

But the fact that it was basically tossed out, found, rescued, and then placed in my hands is just one more example that God knows and God cares, even about little things.

Through this experience, God reminded me that He’s literally on top of all things. At the time of his illness and death, Tommy’s favorite song was, “His Eye is on the Sparrow,” as sung by Mahalia Jackson. Indeed, God’s eye is on the sparrow, and on you and me as well as every little thing that matters to you and me− such as a meaningful photo from years gone by.

Let’s be mindful always that, God knows, y’all!

Can you think of a time in your life when God showed you He knows even though it may have seemed like a small matter? (Or it might have been a bid deal.) 


Feel free to share in the comments below.

Thank you for reading my post today. I hope it encouraged you in some way.

©Copyright 2015 Connie Wohlford

Rejection is NO Match For God

Rejection is NO Match For God                   

Our son, Shannon, was twelve years old when he decided he wanted to attend the U.S. Naval Academy after high school graduation. We told him that if that were to happen, he’d need to maintain outstanding grades all through school.   

Bill the Goat - USNA Mascot

Time sped by and as graduation approached, Shannon had exceeded the criteria for acceptance in most any college or university—even earning the title of valedictorian of his graduating class. Also he was a well-rounded candidate with accolades in sports, choir, and leadership—among which student body president.

It appeared he was well on his way to fulfilling his dream of receiving an appointment to the USNA. 

Our son had worked hard, spending much time during his junior year of high school, filling out numerous forms, writing essays, and sending his credentials to our congressman, senator and the vice president of the United States.

Time moved on and the long anticipated letter from The Academy arrived in the mail. I carried the letter up to Shannon’s room and handed it over as he sat on his bed. 

I held my breath as he opened it, anticipating what we hoped would be would be sensational news. I watched while he read silently. He lowered the letter, stared straight ahead and said, “I’ve been rejected.”

I was stunned. Of course we all knew this was a possibility. But knowing he’d worked so hard and that he’d met all the qualifications with flying colors, this was a hard pill to swallow. And we’d prayed. We’d prayed for God’s will. So—maybe, for our son, being a midshipman was not God’s will. 

I asked Shannon to let me see the letter. I read every word. He’d been rejected because of three medical issues—vision correction, a functional heart murmur, and blood in his urine. (The latter two had been diagnosed during medical exams specifically for his USNA application. In all his years of medical exams, sports injuries, etc. these issues had never been detected.) 

I flipped the letter over and read small print at the bottom. Here I discovered an obscure statement that brought a ray of light through the dark cloud which hovered over my son’s head and heart.

I looked at Shannon and said, “It says here that if you want, you may request a medical waiver for any condition. If a waiver is granted, admission is possible. Do you want to do this?”

“Yes, ma’am.” 

Slowly nodding, I said, “Okay,” and prayed silently.

I looked into my son’s eyes and boldly declared, “Shannon, we’ll request three medical wavers, and if God wants you to go to the Naval Academy, all the devils in Hell will not stop you!”

He agreed and got onto the task of requesting three wavers.

Again, we waited—confidently knowing that if God wanted Shannon to be a midshipman, all the devils in hell would not get in the way. We prepared ourselves for the answer to be yea or nay. 

The year and a half long arduous application process finally bore a final answer when Shannon received a congratulations letter, welcoming him into the United States Naval Academy Class of 92. 

I-Day for Plebes (Internet photo)

His dream came true and in July 1988, he became a lowly plebe, setting sail to begin a twenty-four year exciting and honorable military career—even including being an aviator in fighter jets—fulfilling his greatest military aspiration.

Here again, God slew a giant for His child and all the devils in Hell couldn’t stop Him.

Shannon's retirement "Fini Flight"*

You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

Are you holding a letter of rejection? Or are you up against a wall of rejection? 

Go about the business of perusing your dream if you believe God put it in your heart. Trust God, knowing that if it’s His will and you’re doing your part, all the devils in Hell won’t stop you.  

Your comments are welcome. 

Be encouraged by this song: “God Will Make A Way”

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zo3fJYtS-o

©Connie Wohlford 2016

*Some of you observant folks may notice that, in the photo, Shannon is wearing an Air Force uniform--not a Navy uniform. That's because ten years into his career he transitioned from Navy to Air Force, switching from the Tomcat F-14 to the Strike Eagle F-15.