The first part of our trip to Florida was to attend the marriage of my youngest brother, Jeff, to his fiance, Connie. The setting was the Lake Yard in DeFuniak Springs, FL. With a gathering of about 30 friends and family, they exchanged their vows and were united in holy matrimony. Congratulations Jeff and Connie! May the God of heaven and earth through His Son Jesus Christ bless you both till death do you part. We thank the Lord for you both and welcome Connie as a member of the family. We enjoyed the wedding and the reception so much. Jeff, you have done a great job keeping up mom and dad's old place. The pavilion in the back is a great add and will come in handy for many occasions. I want one!
After the wedding and reception we began to visit the rest of my siblings. We visited Cathy who lives in DeFuniak Springs that evening to catch up with her. On Sunday morning we drove to Tallahassee to visit my sister Janet and her husband Steve. While there my uncle Jack, his wife, and aunt Joyce came over to visit with us. It was a real treat to see them and to have lunch together as we caught up after almost 20 years. On the way back we stopped in Cotton Dale to visit my oldest brother, Larry, and his wife Anita. It was good to see them after about 5 years.
Others we saw on this trip were my sister Joan and her husband Buddy, along with their daugthers, Misty, Roxanne, Ceselly and their families. We also saw and visited with my uncle John and nephew Douglas. We had an awesome time seeing everyone, and began to miss them as we left Florida to visit family in Texas before heading home to Oklahoma.
What would this old house, that once was home to a family of 14, say as a testimony of its time if it could talk? It was sad to see the condition of my Hattaway grandparent's home on this trip to Florida. It was sold just after my grandmother Esther passed away in 1993. For a while it was lived in, but has been vacant for a number of years now and allowed to deteriorate into its current condition.
It is sad to me sentimentally to see this happening to this old homestead, because of the family heritage I see and ponder as I look back in time and consider where I am today because of family heritage. My grandparents were typical of their time, Christians, hard working, honest, and raising a large family through tough times. My grandpa worked 3 jobs to provide for his family, farming, bus driver, and remodeling construction. They were up way before sunrise and often worked till sunset. Many an evening during the summer was spent out on the front porch talking in family fellowship after a hard days work, espcially when other family was there who had grown up and already left home. They were focused on Jesus Christ and were in church most every week. They raised my mom and my uncles and aunts up in the Lord. We visited and stayed with them most every summer when we lived in South Dakota. One summer we spent the whole summer with them. I'm sure thy were ready for us to go home that summer. There are so many memories about this old house, all the laughter and tears over the years that took place here.
As I looked on at the condition of their old home, I thought about how this house once stood on what is today Eglin AFB. The government came in during WW2, forced everyone off and bought their land. My grandpa tore down this house board by board and put it back together on the property it stands on today, 60 acres he bought for $300.00. I believe my mom was born in this house while it was on what is currently Eglin AFB in 1927. Indoor plumbing didn't come to this house till 1961, and my grandma cooked on a wood stove till then as well.
For me, the greatest heritage received from this old house is the Godly Christian heritage received from my Grandparents William M. and Esther (Infinger) Hattaway who lived there after their marriage, April 15, 1925 till they passed away in 1990 and 1993. They passed their Christian heritage to my mom and their other children, raising a Godly generation up for the Lord. My mom passed that on to me, and I have passed it on to my children. Thank you mom, and most especially, thank you Lord. Thank you so much for my heritage.
As I wrote earlier, sentimentally, I'm saddened this old house may be coming to its demise, but its testimony and heritage, because of those who lived there, lives on in the hearts and minds of those who reflect, remember, and ponder all that took place there. If you consider a seed must be planted and then die to bring forth new life, this old house would fit that analogy. It was planted on this property and gave life to a large Christian family, and gave a heritage to those who sprang from it and have gone on to do the same with their lives to a new generation for the Lord. Now, with its job completed, it is dieing and going the way of all such things when their usefullness has come to and end and their job is complete. That's awesome! What a blessing of a testimony and heritage!
What an awesome trip our Lord blessed us with. More than we could ever think to ask for. Thank You my heavenly Father and my Lord Jesus Christ, my Brother and Friend.
I'm glad we went on this trip, because we almost didn't. I'm glad the Lord saw to it we did.
1 comments:
I'm glad you had a good trip and got to reunite with family. I especially liked what you wrote about your heritage that is reminded by your Grandparent's home. Now, you are passing that heritage to your children and grandchildren. Just think, forty years from now your grandchildren may visit the Zuraff home in Newalla and reflect back on the times spent there and the Godly heritage they inherited from you and Rebecca.
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