War Cry - February, 2014 Page 29

Sister Sue and I shared a bed. As we lay shaking

with cold, Mama would warm cotton blankets in front
of the roaring fire. Then she would approach our bed
and lovingly tuck them around us. Next, mama took
bricks she had heated and wrapped in cloth and placed
them at our feet. I have fond memories of her words
as they echo in my head. "Girls, put your feet against
these warm bricks I have covered. Your feet will be
toasty." We had already put on our flannel pjs. Then
came the layers of handmade quilts so popular in that
era. We snuggled in for the night wrapped in physical
warmth as well as the tender caring love of our mama.

The next morning found us racing to get to the

fire. Our daddy had gotten up before dawn and piled
wood on the fireplace embers to get a roaring flame
going again. We tried to get warm in front of it as
we shook with cold. We dressed hurriedly before we
made a dash to the outhouse. It was a number of
years before daddy installed an indoor bathroom.

Years later as an adult, I relived the warmth of

those blankets in my memory. A bout with kidney

stones necessitated a trip to the emergency room on
two separate occasions. Both times a kind nurse of-
fered me blankets warmed in the autoclave. The
warmth was great comfort and spread all through
my shaking, chilled body. It took me back in my
mind's eye to that scene in the farmhouse.

These expressions of kindness from the nurses caused

me to think of ways I could wrap others in warmth as
I journeyed through life. I could offer a compliment,
a comforting word, or perhaps assist a handicapped
person trying to navigate a difficult situation.

Warmth, I discovered, could be experienced in many

ways. Although my experiences involved physical heat,
the warmth seeped over and permeated my spirit. It re-
assured me that others cared about me. Both my mama
and the nurses expressed warm love through their acts
of kindness. They were living out the words of Jesus,
"In as much as you have done it unto one of the least of
these, you have done it unto Me" (Matthew 25:40).

Peggy Park

lives in Lexington, Kentucky.

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