My mind drifted back to the Appalachian Mountains. We lived in Harlan Kentucky, as deep into Eastern Kentucky Appalachian Mountains as possible, without crossing into another state. Eastern Kentucky was my home for almost the first eleven years of my life. That is long enough for the beautiful Mountains to build me. The Mountains are in my blood and will be who I am, for the rest of my life.
So often in my life people have mercilessly laughed and made jokes about my Southern accent and often I wondered why I didn’t care. I never let it bother me. I was never one to try to win the approval of people. My attitude was “take me as I am or don’t take me at all” and it did not matter to me which they chose.
I recall being called “Hillbilly”, “Becky Boone”, a slow learner, unable to learn, and many other things that made others feel better about themselves for trying to belittle me. And, all because of a southern accent. It never worked!!
I always saw people as created in the Image of God and that was enough for me. What one had or didn’t have didn’t make one bit of difference to me. What color one’s skin was, and what ethnic background one came from never crossed my mind. If you were a human being you were made in the Image of God and that’s all I needed to know.
Now, let me describe the “House that built me”! It was the Appalachian Mountains and everything that they wrapped their big tall, colorful trees around. It was the land of pure comfort. Thinking back on everything about my life each step was a block in building me. The mountains themselves; were tall and in many shapes, colors, and sizes. The mountains were God’s paint palette that formed paintings no human could create. In a child’s eyes, the mountains appeared to reach the sky. They wrapped around me like a big green blanket that kept me warm and safe from the world. The mountains had the same effect as waking up in bed, on a cold morning, under an onslaught of covers with a fire roaring in the fireplace and smelling biscuits, gravy, bacon, and eggs cooking. It was HOME!!
The mountains, while beautiful and comforting, were also full of warnings. They would tell ahead of time the storms that were about to come. The sound of rain came far in advance of the actual rain. The rain moved through those mountains, beating down on the leaves of the trees. The sound gave ample warning to shelter the animals, cover everything needing to stay dry and get inside to keep safe from the storm. The mountains also warned us about the seasonal change. As summer began to transform into fall, the mountains were an awesome painting directly from the hand of God. The colors were bright orange, red, yellow, and green, but the warning was things were about to change, so get prepared.
Our family has lived a life full of blessings too numerous to count. But arriving at this point has not been without challenges and adversity.
We realize that not one of us should have survived the harsh environment we were born into. After you read our story, it is my prayer that you too will realize that it was only by the Grace, Mercy, and the hand of God covering us at all times that we survived.
Please join us as we relate the journey that made us who we are today and brought us to this place and time. Or should I say, “the house that built me”?