Granddaddy
Doss’ teaching on Love
By Kenton
Jenkins
revised
The greatest sermons are the ones that we "see" lived out by someone
important in our life. I am grateful that God blessed me with great parents and
grandparents that ‘walked out’ their faith daily. As a teenage boy, I was
spending the summer at my mother's parents home in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
The Grandfather clock chimed its time
for us as I turned down the hallway toward the bathroom. I saw the
bathroom door swing open and was about to turn my eyes away when I realized
that both of them were in their pajamas. Bath time, I would soon realize, was
an ordeal, as my Grandmother Doss was stricken with osteoporosis and the
disease had nearly immobilized her. I saw my grandfather lean his
seventy plus year old body over and scoop the little lady up in his arms
before I could offer to help. He had her night gown on her, and Frances,
although small in stature, was now delivering her bedtime orders as usual. She
was chattering away, “now Bonnie, you make sure those apple fritters get
covered up and set in the oven and wipe that table good and see to it that ……”
He winked at me as they came through the doorway. He laughed his funny sideways
laugh, “Yes, yes, yes, Frances, I will take care of it.” He had a way of
picking at her and she would just shake her finger and out would come his
sideways laugh again. That laugh of his would really ‘stir her soup’ and they
would go back and forth talking until he got the covers pulled up just like she
wanted. Afterward, she would send him to tidy her kitchen. Then, regular as the
sun setting, he would sit at the table in the middle of the little kitchen and
have a glass of buttermilk and cornbread stirred to just the right consistency.
Grandma would call him to come to bed and he would only stop to brush his teeth
on the way. I can still hear his prayers drifting through the house. I pictured
him in my mind, on his knees, beside his bed as I had witnessed many times.
To this day, seeing my elderly Grandfather carry his bride out of that bathroom
was and is the greatest act of love I had ever witnessed. It spoke volumes
about the commitment and unwavering dedication that he demonstrated daily. He
labored with a smile because he was glad to serve as his Lord and his
circumstances required. I never heard him complain about anything, save
possibly the crooked politician or a weak preacher who wouldn’t stand up for
God's Word. He studied his bible daily. Pastors and Sunday school teachers
could be found occasionally in their living room testing the soundness of their
doctrine with Brother Doss. He planted a bigger garden than we thought he
should, every spring, with a push plow. Grapevines, chickens, cows and horse
apple trees made their homes there too. On the back porch there were mason jars
and old cans full of all kinds of things from leather shoe laces to
straightened nails. Nothing was wasted and everything had its place. Be
careful, because there is not a rail around the back porch. If you make your
way down to the root cellar you would find lots of sweet potatoes laid on the
cool red clay steps that were hand cut out of the earth and mason jars filled
with wonderfully tasty fruits and vegetables.
As a teenager, I thought he was crazy for not selling his little 9 acre farm in
the middle of bustling Lawrenceville, Georgia. The fancily attired real estate
agents would dramatically set the grand figures in front of him and I would
dream about all the boats and lake houses and toys that I could buy. Grandma
would refill the tea glasses as he politely said, “no thank you”, for the
umpteenth time. What I realize now, that I was blind to at the time, is that
you can’t buy that kind of life with money. The kind of life they had has to be
sweated out, prayed for and worked through to the finish, in love.
It took many years to sink in, but in watching their life I have come to
realize a few things about love. Love does not sell itself short to the world
nor can it be exchanged for currency. Love does not allow you to put your own
wants in front of another's needs. Love does not flatter with empty compliments
that make you think too much of yourself. Love never accepts disobedience, but
disciplines in kindness and truth to circumcise the uncircumcised heart. Love
finishes the job no matter how hot it is. Love will carry you through to the
end. Love of Jesus is the most important thing that there is. I saw my
grandparents walk out all of these principles and many more. I did not
appreciate the fullness of their faith and love at the time, but now I see what
a privilege it was to have such Godly people guiding my heart through the way
they lived.
I surely
do miss standing on Granddaddy’s back porch listening to the chickens fuss and
the cow’s lowing. I can smell the fresh cut grass and see the red clay patches
here and there in the drive that swung around the house. I’d give anything to
draw a bucket of that cool clear water from the old well. I look forward to
seeing my grandparents again when the Lord calls me home. I now appreciate who
they were and would love to sit down with them and just talk a while at that
little kitchen table. Maybe Grandma would make us a batch of apple fritters to
give our hands something to hold while we talked. I will call my cousins in
from all around and just listen to the funny things my Grandparents generation
did to get through the "depression" or watch again as Grandaddy dares
my poor cousin to taste one of his home grow hot peppers, as he himself chews on
one, then laughs that sideways laugh of his, as my cousin runs for the sink squealing.
Yes David, I still laugh at that.
