WACKY WEDNESDAY WISDOM: Remembering my Tot years

     I happened across a picture online recently and right away, I knew I had seen it before. I just couldn't remember exactly when and where. All I could remember is that I had seen it during my childhood at some point. Immediately my racing mind traveled to destinations near and far as I desperately attempted to connect time and location to the artist rendering of an old man with a Santa Claus beard, hands folded in prayer and eyes closed. Near him on the table was a loaf of bread, a cutting knife, a cup of soup, and a Bible with a pair of reading glasses sitting atop it. 
     I didn't grow up dreaming of attending Appalachian State University, though I certainly enjoyed visiting my great aunt Tot in her remote home on Leisure Acres near campus when I was a kid. My parents often allowed me to stay there for days at a time, just me and my great aunt. She seemed to enjoy having a boy around, having lived on her own for many years in her mountain getaway. She wasn't antisocial but I got the feeling she was content being on her own most of the time. 
     Through a winding trail of circumstances too long to share, I ended up at Appalachian State after high school, where I had the privilege to play on the baseball team while studying History and preparing for my career as an educator. Most of that time as an educator was spent coaching, but I mixed in some teaching along the way, which is what I do full time now that coaching is no longer my thing. 
     My Aunt Tot came to as many games as she could, but she wasn't getting around well by then and she passed on within a year or so of my graduation. Despite her being gone for over thirty years, there are things about her that will stick with me forever. 
      I don't remember ever being uncomfortable with my Aunt Tot. Others may have felt uneasy around her (she could be gruff and blunt- especially when a cigar was perched between her lips)- but I knew her to be a kind, loving, and sensitive lady with one of the warmest hearts imaginable. We spent a lot of time with the television turned off, talking about subjects ranging from girlfriends to how to rabbit hunt without dogs. She taught me how to shoot a shotgun and laughed uncontrollably when I landed on my rear end during my first attempt. "Keep the shotgun firm against your shoulder and it won't kick as hard," she advised between snickers. 
     We loved to play cards. She taught me how to cheat, but then made me promise I would never utilize the methods she revealed to me. She taught me how to run my hands under cool water when they were frozen instead of hot water. "Hot water makes 'em sting too much," she wisely informed me. She demonstrated how to puff on a cigar without inhaling, then made me promise I would never smoke anything in my life. She taught me that it was polite to eat slowly, so I wouldn't finish before others and make them feel uncomfortable while they continued to eat as I watched. (I still need to do better on that).

     The Bible says in Proverbs 31:26 - "She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue." Every time I hear that verse I think of several fine ladies in my life, but the first one I think of is my Aunt Tot. The Bible has much to say about the roles of men and women in the home and in the church, but it never says that women can't be filled with wisdom, discernment, and the Holy Spirit. And I'm fortunate that my Aunt Tot was willing to share her wisdom with a boy. 

     Aha! Now I remember where I saw the Praying Man picture. It was above her dining room table where we ate all our meals together, often just her and me. With the exception of the beard, my Aunt Tot looked a lot like the Praying Man each time we broke bread at her table and she insisted on saying "Grace" before a bite was taken. 

     I think my Aunt Tot would be proud that I still remember so much of what she taught me during my youth. Someday by God's Grace I intend to join my great aunt in the heavenly realm and reminisce about our times in the mountains. Perhaps the Lord will allow us a card game and a Victory Cigar together when I join her on the scene, assuming we both agree not to cheat or inhale.