Part 2: A Mom’s Thanksgiving

 Part 2: A Mom’s Thanksgiving 2020 

Our son, David, now 18, is working at Entegra in Indiana. My brothers family has opened their home to him and been so kind! Then, shortly after his arrival, dear friends of ours moved there and have been a huge blessing too. But what I want to do is share an obscure connection to show how God brings together the body of Christ. 

Many of you know that we have been in this community a loooong time. In fact, my parents have been in it even longer. 70 years roughly. Many of our friends and church family go way back with us, and when our son, David Clayton, started telling us about someone he met at Entegra that was a Christian and so on, I explained why I knew who he was talking about. 

Again, back up with me now at least 40 years. Growing up in Manchester and attending Manchester Community Church and Manchester Christian Academy, meant my world was pretty small for a long time. My dad taught math at South Kitsap High School, and several of his teacher friends and their families attended Manchester. There was also a family there whose dad was connected to the SK high school community via the Skill Center. They had 4 kids, and lived just a few blocks away from us in Manchester. When we moved to the farm, they also bought property connecting ours, and, in fact, the parents still live next door to us! Well, my older brother, Mark, was good friends with their son, Mark, who we called Corny because we could not use their middle names to distinguish since they were the same also. They are both Mark Edwards. Lol

So, growing up, our 2 families spent a lot of time together. Traveling with old car business stuff, gardening together, youth group. They have 2 daughters that were my age and another son who was the oldest of us all. I remember a couple bike rides to Beaver Creek and past Dead Man’s Corner (we named that location ourselves). 

We all grew up, of course, and moved away from each other, but Mark and Mark kept in touch, both marrying and having kids. They both remained faithful Christians, and the other Mark became a pastor while my brother became an engineer and has had opportunities there. 

So, when David excitedly told be about Alex Walker, who was also working for my brother’s company, Entegra, I knew just who he was. He is the husband of Mark Kerman’s oldest daughter! In fact, when they were newly weds, they’d come down from Kodiak, Alaska and visited our church one Sunday. David and I were able to take them out for dinner, and soon they were renting an apartment from my in-laws for awhile. They relocated a couple times and a couple years ago, Alex was hired on at Entegra. When Alex met David, he recalled other Eddy’s he’d met in Washington and our church and everything. Our son was so encouraged to meet this man, and it thrilled my heart to see how his face lit up about him! What a testimony for this other guy! It has been quite a change for David to be so far away, but he is doing well and has Christians around him to help him grow. What a blessing in these times when so many things are shut down. 

I am so thankful for my small world. It really isn’t small after all, is it? God has enlarged our family so much over the years and woven contacts/friends we’ve made over the the years into our kid’s lives. I’m so thankful every time someone encourages my kids! I believe it makes a huge difference in the lives of our children whenever someone gives them a chance. Invests in them and holds them to their beliefs. 

Because my parents were friends through “thick and thin” with another family, their grandson has a  Christian friend, born and raised in Alaska, relocated to Indiana, working in the same company. Thank you to my parents. Thankyou to our neighbors, Bruce and Lynne Kernan, for raising your kids in our church who went on to live in Alaska and pastor there where their oldest daughter met and married a man who loves God and now lives in Indiana and is pleased to reach out to our son, David.