Travel Journal #7

Saturday 20th October

   LONG day! Left just gone 9 to drive to Tupelo Mississippi to visit Elvis Presley's house! YAS! So cool, we went in the wee house he was born in, the church he used to go to and first loved singing in, we saw his primary school and the town, and of course the museum and chapel built by family, friends and fans. It was very interesting.    We actually got a bit of a special tour as we went round with a couple who's Mother (and mother-in-law respectively) had grown up around the corner from Elvis' family and her Mother took care of Elvis when he was a baby, more notably right when he was born and the family dealt with his twin brother who didn't survive. She told us stories of the children, herself included, all playing on the hills nearby and going up to a small house to play. She distinctly recalls her mother playing the piano in the church Elvis and his family went to and tells us that in the reconditioned church building - they put the piano on the wrong side and there should be an aisle between the two columns of benches! It was truly a wonderful day out, we got to hear about the town's history a bit and we ate in the Diner he frequented as a child and revisited as an adult once he became famous. We also saw the music shop in which he bought his first guitar!

   We got back from Tupelo at about 5.30 and we were meant to be at a family's house for dinner at 6 so we quickly freshened up, grabbed a spot of tea and shot off! The family we ate with were lovely, I got into a massive conversation about everything with Beth Naylor and we pretty much solved the world's problems... ;] What a lovely night, amazing folk. Love meeting great people!

 

The girl in the middle of the photo is Miss Rae who gave us the special tour. The boy standing on the left is Elvis Presley.

Sunday 21st October

   Another long one! We worshiped with the Estes congregation where Steve and Marie are members. It was so wonderful to see so many people who have known my family for decades and it's always lovely to meet new people too, or re-meeting them as I can't remember those who held me when I was a baby or played with me when I was a child... We ate there with a visitation group then came back to the house for a bit and I skyped with Shanae for a few hours. Love you Sis! <3

   Head out to Bethel Springs for evening worship and class. Dad did his BBS presentation again and we hung around for about an hour and a half talking with people! I got into a conversation with Matt who had taken me around the Freed campus, and his friend was there too who does an amazing Londoner accent and is fluent in Japanese... Needless to say, I'm meeting some interesting and entertaining people!

   It's good times.

How do you know when you're in LOVE?

   I KNOW you're all dying to hear what Dad and I have been up to so far on our travels across the pond but we've done a lot and it'll take some time (especially picking out which pictures to show!) so you'll have to hold your horses a wee bit longer.

   I did, however, want to share with you something rather specific. We arrived in Henderson on Tuesday evening - staying with a couple Steve and Marie, the latter of which I would like to be able to say was inspiration for my Mum's nickname for me, 'Shelly Marie', but I'm not sure. We'll stick with that story though, as she is a wonderful woman, and an honour to be named after!

   On Wednesday morning we went to Freed Hardeman's chapel, before we were due to depart for Searcy that afternoon. The man doing the devotional at the chapel was really good, very well spoken and gave quite a lovely address. I will share with you what he said, in the hope you will also receive some of the same warm fuzziness in your heart that I did upon hearing his words...

   His task was to answer the question 'How do you know when you're in love?' A rather wonderful question which leads to so many prolific answers it is often considered rhetorically, without much conclusion. But this man seemed to have a pretty good answer...

   He said "It depends what kind of love you're talking about - brotherly love, family love, romantic love..." He went on to describe the feeling of being 'in-love', the butterflies, moist palms, heart-racing, gut-clenching feeling upon seeing, holding or even meeting that special someone. He asked "can it be real?" The feeling itself, of course, everyone who has experienced this will agree. But 'how real' it is, is what he moved on to talking about. "If it changed, does it get less?" Well, that depends on how it changes.
   He said LOVE, not 'love' is an "emotion, devotion and action". He Biblically expresses that you "can not serve two masters" because if you serve - if you devote yourself IN action - one thing or person, you can not do wrong to them even if you feel otherwise inclined. This is LOVE.
   He explains that to LOVE we must "Do good to them in spite of ourselves... It's a feeling, but it's your choice what you do with it."

"Some days you wont feel in love, but you don't stop loving... You never have the right to not act right."

We looked briefly at 1 Corinthians 13. 
He said you are 'in LOVE': "When everything you do is for their highest good. When you're willing I be patient and suffer with them, being kind. When you're willing to lift them up to your detriment. When you put them first, being kind and gracious to them no matter what."

"It doesn't matter what they do, you're responsible for what you do."

"When it gets past the emotion... You'll be well and truly on your way knowing that it's the real thing baby 'uh hu hu'..." He ends in a jovial tone, that last bit sounding like Elvis. It was a gooood chapel service.

    We arrived safely in Searcy on Wednesday and Thursday morning we went to the Harding chapel service. This was brilliant, given by one of the students. I shall tell you all about it later, it leads quite well into one of the points made a minute ago... 
   On a personal note - Today would have been Mum's 51st Birthday, had she still been on this earth. Dad mentioned it in his lesson in Church this morning and I found myself crying a bit in public for the first time in a wee while. It still hits me that she's not coming back in the strangest of ways. It is still foreign to me that she won't have any more Birthdays. And I'm still getting used to the idea that she's already with us, and that she is ok.


Peace and love, as always.