Grandma's honeysuckle

I was in my backyard one afternoon last year, absorbed in whatever I was doing, and heard "hey" from a familiar voice behind me. I turned and a new friend from church was standing at the fence. She'd been at the car wash. I walked over to chat.

"I didn't know you lived here!"

"Yep, since 1989"

more chit chat, then

"Is that a honeysuckle plant?"

"Yep"

"And you planted it on purpose?"
"Yep"

"Why? Why would you plant honeysuckle on purpose?"

I was confused. 

Why wouldn't I plant a honeysuckle bush?

Later I processed why. It spreads and can overtake a field and farmers certainly don't need one more thing complicating their lives and workloads and this area has (or maybe had is a better descriptor) many farmers.

I didn't voice any of the the thoughts racing through my head except one. 

"The start came from Bill's grandmother's house."

In this community passing things from one generation to the next is respected. 

The value changed.

All because of where it came from.

Where it came from is the whole reason I planted it. I was bringing a little bit of our home in Ohio to our new home in Kentucky. It was more than just the plant though. It was a reminder, everytime I looked at it, of a woman who made the best bacon, eggs, toast and tea when we visited her. The woman who knew I was pregnant with my first bab(ies) before I did. The woman who influenced Bill's perception of prayer and the value of the Word. He used to tell me that anytime he went to her house her Bible was open and how many times he saw her kneeling by here bed in prayer. Her example had a lot to do with the roots of his faith.

The original roots of this honeysuckle plant probably came from Casey County Ky where Grandma Benedick grew up. It's funny to think that she chose to transplant a bit of her KY home to Ohio and I ended up bringing a bit of from my home in Ohio back to its original home state. To this day I am thankful to have something tangible to bring to mind her example of what it means to have living, thriving roots of faith.Her faith is still living. Still speaking, from one generation to the next.

"By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead." Hebrews 11:4