Dogwood Endeavors

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness
For his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley
Of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil:
For thou art with me;
Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me
In the presence of mine enemies:
Thou anointest my head with oil;
My cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life:
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

When I was a little girl, 3 and 4 years old, my mother would walk us down the street to visit with the Bishops. This elderly couple lived two doors down on Anchor Terrace street and like the rest of the houses in our neighborhood, the Bishops did not have central air conditioning. Instead, the curtains were drawn and the house was dark and the air inside was warm and moist and still. Mrs. Bishop kept a plate on the coffee table that held candy and we always got a piece for visiting. My mother and sisters would stay in the living room with Mrs. Bishop and I would visit Mr. Bishop in his back room. I guess you could call his room a man cave but I don’t remember there being a television set. I do remember the large emphysema machine that helped him with his breathing. I also remember his can for tobacco juice that he would spit into on occasion. I’m not sure why I always went looking for Mr. Bishop at such a young age. After all, the candy was in the living room. I’m also not sure how it is that I remember any of the stories he told me, but I do. Three distinct memories still remain of our many visits together; a story of a snow storm in an Atlanta full of horses and buggies, directions on how to make a sling shot that I wasn’t old enough to have, and practice memorizing the 23rd Psalm. I cannot pray that prayer without thinking about my old friend.

I heard part of this psalm today in Mass and my heart filled with the memories of all the words of that psalm and of the frail old man who somehow knew I would need them often as I grew older. I have decided to share this story today because I want to begin to tell my story for the sake of my children who need to know that they too have a shepherd that can help them walk through their dark valleys so that they fear no evil. This Shepherd is good and He loves them and He is never far from them. What does it mean to love your neighbor? My mother taught me it was as simple as walking down the street to sit with an old man who was trapped in his stuffy cluttered room and make a friend by asking questions and listening and being present. Simple things. Love is not complicated, for a 4 year old.