Cherish Me
If you had five minutes to evacuate your home in case of a fire, what would you choose to take with you? Living out here in the Mountain West, every summer families, unfortunately, need to make that difficult decision. A few minutes to pack your vehicle (out here the ranchers call them "rigs") and to escape a raging inferno. So, think about it for a moment. What would you leave behind to perish, and what would you value enough to take with you? Or, to use another descriptive word, what do you cherish?
Most families leave big screen flat screen television sets- too bulky. With insurance, we can replace all the gadgets and appliances. But, those irreplaceable items like the family albums filled with memories that we cherish is what most people choose to save as they evacuate their home.
Cherish- that is my word for the day. Cherish is a word that I seldom spoke even though it was always in my working vocabulary. But when Mary, wife of fifty years and lover of good fiction, discovered the word "cherish" in one of her favorite series, "The Mitford Years", by Jan Karon, the word cherish has become more frequently spoken in our home. In the book, a young couple preparing to wed are counseled that the secret of a long, happy marriage is the word cherish.
Now I have several things that I value. I often say I love my truck, but if I had to leave it in the garage if the house was on fire, I wouldn't hesitate a moment. A few years ago, I received a KitchenAid mixer. It remains one of my favorite gifts in recent memory (it has to be recent because I forget so much anymore). I love to watch the dough hook turn and twist and kneed that whole wheat bread dough. But, the KitchenAid mixer would not be on my "cherish" list of things to save.
Isn't
it strange, that some of the least expensive and simplest items are what we
learn to cherish? Usually these are things that have sentimental value. Often
the older the item is the more we have come to cherish it. That is the way with
marriage.
Mary
and I have shared life- both good times and painful times- for over a
half-century. In our retirement years we have enjoyed several memorable long road trips in
our truck. Recently we returned from a 5,670 mile trip through
the Midwest and then back to our beloved Oregon country. The last two days of
the trip Mary began to feel ill. All she wanted when we stopped to eat each
night was a bowl of chicken noodle soup. Now for the past two weeks Mary's
condition has worsened. She finally went to her physician a week ago today and
received a couple of prescriptions. But, she still struggles with nausea. Her
severe coughing spells seem endless. She is tired and very weak. I know that it
true because she even asked if I would clean the bathroom last week. That is
significant because Mary prides herself in doing her homemaking chores. She
seems to feel guilty when I just pitch in and do chores around the house. Frankly,
I enjoy helping around the home, but when Mary asks for help I know she is very
weary.
But
after all, what else does an old retired preacher have to do? No more days in
the office. No more sermons always in the incubator preparing for the next Sunday. So,
all this chatter is just to make a point about the word of the day, "cherish".
Why
do I want to help Mary with housekeeping and cooking? Honestly, I like to cook
and bake, but that is not why I chose to do it these past two weeks. I want to
prepare meals, to refill her ice-water glass, to fetch her medicine etc. I want
to do these things because I cherish her!
Yes,
I also do these things because that is what I said I would do when I held her
hand and vowed to "love her like Christ loves the church and gave Himself
up for her." So, in a manner of speaking, I am just doing what I promised to do fifty years ago.
Also,
I am not serving Mary through this difficult time because she has done it for me
twice when I fractured my spine back in 1984 and again in 2015. The first time
required six weeks hospitalization. Because she cherished me back then she was
there every day with me. For six months she nursed me and helped me get back
on my feet again. Mary has had to do everything for me that any nurse or what
we used to call nurses aids, has to do for a patient that is immobile.
But,
today, after fifty years sharing life and love together, I choose to serve Mary
simply because I cherish her.
When
we make these long road trips Mary always takes along a bunch of CD tapes
including religious, country and western (her favorite genre) and the pop songs
from the sixties. One of pop songs that we heard at least twice on this last
trip was, "Cherish Me as Much as I Cherish You." The lyrics were by
Terry Kirkman. “Cherish Me” was number two on the hit parade for three weeks in 1966.
(Yes, youngsters, we also had music back then too.)
So,
in this blog about my favorite person and my very best friend, I share a few
lyrics for your edification and contemplation. But, mostly I share them in
honor of the wife I cherish deeply.
Cherish is the word I
use to describe
All the feeling that I
have hiding here for you inside
You don't know how many
times I've wished that I had told you
You don't know how many
times I've wished that I could hold you
You don't know how many
times I've wished that I could
Mold you into someone
who could
Cherish me as much as I
cherish you
And I do cherish you
And I do cherish you
Cherish is the word
