After meeting with the elders in Sheveport and agreeing to
enter retirement, our children got together with us in a conference call and
suggested that we probably needed to live close to one of them. Gary was living in Cedar Rapids. It had been our home for fifteen years, and
we had many friends there, so it seemed logical for us to return to Iowa.
Our last several months in Sheveport were busy ones. We had to get the house ready to sell, put it
on the market, and try to find a buyer.
As things turned out our timing wasn’t the best in the world. The economy went south in 2008, but we were
blessed. By the middle of 2009, we did
find a buyer. We hated to leave 320 Sage
Hill Drive, but we thoroughly enjoyed living there for eleven years.
The Southern Hills people were wonderful to us in our last
few months. They honored us with a
special celebration in downtown Shreveport.
In addition to Southern Hills members, friends from all over North
Louisiana came. Others, who had touched
our lives from the past were also present, some coming for long distances.
It was wonderful to be honored, but there’s always someone
present at one of these events, who brings you back down to earth and puts
things in perspective. John Hawkins, the
Southern Hills preacher, put up a PowerPoint slide with a map of the United
States. He posted markers at the
various locations where we had lived, and spoke of our influence in various
communities around the country. One
person, whom I consider, a really good friend spoke up in the middle of the
presentation. She said, “It shows he
couldn't hold a job.” There was another
person present who grew up with me. He
told people the real truth, although I will always be grateful for the things
he could have said but didn’t. You have
to be careful not to rise above your raising.
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