The Ring

My mother's oldest sister and her husband lived near us when I was growing up. They moved from Southern California to this part in Oregon, in the mid 1940s and bought a 5 acre lot, a little ways out of town, and had a chicken farm. Through their move to this area, my mom and my dad became familiar with this part of the state and eventually moved here shortly before I was born. My Aunt's name was Ailene and her husband was Curtis. I have very early memories of going to their house to visit. Before my memories became very clear, Uncle Curtis had a stroke and their only son, Wade, had a nervous breakdown and both Wade and Curtis passed away by the time I was 10 years old. This left Aunt Ailene alone for many years. She was a very independent person but also very lonely. She came over for a lot of family holidays and my folks always helped her with things she needed done around the house. In 1982 I began to see her often as I was commuting to college and her house was midway on my commute. By this time she was 70 years old and her son and husband had been gone for 12 years. She was frail with a handicap in her hands that left them drawn up in a fist. So, I would take her grocery shopping, do gardening, go out to eat, and help with household projects that she needed done. The main thing was that I became a friend. She was lonely and so was I. I was 22 and single waiting for my beloved. We spent many hours talking about our lives. She was a believer and we shared about what the Lord meant to us. She had a lot of life time to share and I always enjoyed the stories of her life, how she grew up, moving from Nebraska to California, meeting her husband and having her son. One warm spring day I was out in her back yard doing some weeding and she came out and asked me to come in because she wanted to tell me something. I went in and she had a large glass of lemonade for me. She told me that when she passed she wanted me to have her wedding rings. She wanted me to have them because I knew all the stories of how she met Uncle Curtis and what their relationship meant to her. I was so honored for her to tell me this. I didn't even know what her rings looked like, because of her hands being crippled, she could not wear them. After I finished my lemonade, I went back out to the yard to finish the weeding. As I worked, I felt the Lord speak to me that day, and said, "Elena, I have seen your sad heart and this gift of these rings will be my promise to you that you will be married." My mind went right to, but who, Lord, could it be? I didn't find that out for another 19 years, but I always hung onto the promise that the Lord gave me that day. My dear Aunt passed on. I went to her house to take her grocery shopping on a February day in 1988 and she did not answer her door. I went in and found her sleeping in bed but she did not wake up when I touched her. I ran to the phone and called the paramedics. They rushed her to the hospital and found out that she had had a massive stroke and it damaged very vital parts of her brain and she would not recover. All my mom's family had a phone conference and decided to let the doctors take her off life support. They said that Aunt Ailene was ready to go home with the Lord. Her husband and son were in heaven and she was waiting these years to go to see the Lord and her loved ones. I walked into the room after they had taken her off life support and she had given her last breath. I felt the presence of the Lord there, he had come to bring her home. Tears flowed down my cheeks as I saw her peaceful form, I knew she was at rest and finally home! After her death, I came into possession of her lovely rings and I will treasure them always. I also inherited the handkerchief that she carried in her wedding with forget-me-nots and bleeding hearts emroidered on it. I have also included a picture of her wedding which was on Monday, September 15, 1941. She was such a beautiful bride and Uncle Curtis was so handsome. They married late in life and had one child and so have I. The Lord fulfilled his promise to me and I am so thankful that I was able to get to know my aunt in her later years and share in the stories of her life.

For more treasures and the stories behind them go to Kelli's blog.