MY CHRISTIAN HERITAGE
Carol Castagna August 15, 2022
I treasure my Christian heritage! So many family members displaying God’s love in everyday situations.
Dad read the Bible early in the morning and sang hymns in his deep, low voice most of the day. Truly, no one had a father like mine who sang songs as though they were written just for him. Whenever he wasn’t at work at the Bridgeport Brass Co. or building a fireplace or stone walk or stone wall, he planted a beautiful scene that became the park of our home, because it was just that beautiful! He would perfect and manicure every corner and crevice with shrubs and flowers and trees. It was a sight to behold. And he believed in me; he was greatly moved by my writing. He encouraged me to further my education, which I did.
Mom loved the Lord with all her heart. As we sang, even toward her last days, with a diagnosis of Lewy Body Dementia, she recalled the lyrics to the hymns, as though they had been engraved in her memory, in a special area where the Lewy bodies did not penetrate; with her eyes closed and lifting her hands in praise to the Lord, as the Chaplain led the residents in song on Sunday mornings at the Nursing Facility where she resided. When she was much younger, mom offered family and friends the lovely aroma and flavors of tasty morsels sweeping through her kitchen; she also played the piano ‘by ear’ and dazzled those around her with her gift. She was a Good Samaritan to all who crossed her path.
My dad's mom was a saintly woman with a holy countenance. She was poor in the world's eyes but rich in God's love and kindness. She quietly praised the Lord in church and sang hymns as though Jesus and she were the only two in the room. She smiled and greeted the others with peace and a sense of reverence about her -and joy. I remember her fondly and wish she could have been a larger part of my life. But I saw her on Sunday mornings and every time, it was as though she bestowed bits and pieces of her holiness my way and sprinkled it on my heart. And I, of course, seized it and held on to it as my own.
My mom’s mother and I had too much fun together! She was my mentor! She taught me from the Bible, early on, and I saw the way she emulated the love of her Lord in her daily walk with him, as a woman of prayer and one who lived near to the heart of God. She made the love of God and His presence in her life, so real -that I chased after what she was made of, wanting it for myself. And I found it! A relationship with the Savior and a close walk with Him as Lord of my life.
I sat with both grandmothers during the church service, sang hymns with them, read the Bible together; and I also felt the Lord’s presence and power in that little church; as the minister prayed for healing of an illness for one of the parishioners; as someone knelt in prayer for a family member’s salvation; as people softly praised the Lord in whispers or depth of gratitude on those Sundays, for seventeen years. And all of this deeply touched my heart. Even though the sermons were offered in Italian, instead of English, it was the ambience, specifically, the presence of the Lord, God. The simplicity of the church itself, the plain and simple gathering of a few, not more than 40 or 50 people on any given Sunday -for one reason: to talk to God; to praise God; to interact with God. It was a powerful several years! A profound blessing!
Most of the congregants had been born in Italy and were elderly. When speaking to one of them, one would need to take extra time either to understand or hear or kind of figure out exactly what the message was.
I have a special fondness for the elderly, their physical strength waning but their strength of character, gleaming! I thank God for each dear family member because their offerings helped shape my life in the direction of my Lord, Jesus.
A Prose-Poem… He Is The Way
I asked; God answered. I sought; I found. I knocked and the door opened wide for me.
Ask. And listen. Seek. You’ll find.
His mercy is limitless. His faithfulness ever abounds. (c.c. song lyrics)
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