Hold On! Life Is Precious!

By Kay L. Jurgenson

Hold On! Life is Precious! is a collection of short stories involving a potpourri of subjects from around the world. This book is a reminder to all who journey-- to hold on to those precious parts of life so often taken for granted.
Hold On! Life is Precious! is about changes which occur in our lives and the ways in which we connect. It is about our global family . It is about nature and animals. It is about personalities like my friend, Boomer, who showed many of us how to love in a world desperately seeking it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 13, 2008
• ISBN: 9781477162675

Book preview

Copyright © 2008 by Kay L. Jurgenson.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2008900496

ISBN:         Hardcover                               978-1-4257-7414-1

                   Softcover                                 978-1-4257-7393-9

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4771-6267-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in

any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission

in writing from the copyright owner.

Scripture quotations are from the Revised Standard Version, copyright 1946,

1952, and 1971 by the National Council of Church of Christ in the USA.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

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CONTENTS

Preface

With Gratitude

Test Your Memory

Wonder

Nature

Dulcy

Be Still and Know

Creation

Beyond Ourselves

Freeway Marie Grace

Why

Mom Millie

Obstacles

Crossroad Connections

Anger or Love

Needs and Wants

Ordination—1975

Burning Bush

Weary of the Struggle

One to Another

Child at the Door

Change

Cradled or Coddled

The Bridge

Connectedness

Peace Corps

Encounter

Fourteen Dollars

Guess Who

United in Grief

Sharing Grief

Peace

Tina

The Duck That Couldn’t Quack

So Glad You Came

Min and Yang

Baptism

Connected

Sinai

Memorable Couple

Faith

I Buweve

A Difficult Lesson

Prayer

Mount of Olives

Searching

Power in Weakness

Unusual Grandma

Mother of the Year

Sabbath Place

Lead On

Humor

The Lighter Side

A Practical Man

Stop Throwing Water

Pigeons in Bethlehem

My Town

My Father, the Lutheran

Remember When

The Advocate Speaks

Conclusion? or the Beginning?

Notes, Footnotes, and Permissions

References

About the Author: Kay L. Jurgenson

Preface

Hold On! Life is Precious!

Whether a child, a teen, or an adult, life goes fast. It seems like only yesterday when I was riding on the back of my brother’s tricycle and just yesterday when I followed him to school at four years of age. Today, we are both senior citizens, thanking God for so many blessings and rejoicing in all the incredible people encountered on our journeys.

* * *

I dedicate this book to our parents and family who first taught us the meaning of love. It is also a dedication to all who love and care about God’s people and about God’s world. Ultimately, Hold On! Life is Precious is a dedication to God for such AMAZING GRACE!

* * *

May this book bless you as you journey!

With Gratitude

This book could not have been written without many resources, experiences, and interchanges. Many of you are as much a part of this book as I am. Although I am only one individual found in the stories, many of you are also in them. Although I fashioned the stories, some of you contributed your writing expertise and style. Although I compiled the information, many of you were the inspiration!

My personal thanks to my proofreader-editors, the team from Xlibris, Kay Wible and to my computer advisors, Tara Nelson and Dr. Pradeep Salapakkam. Also, a special thank-you to the Sabbath Place community including Karen Nelson, Rev. Marlene Anderson, and all who gave assistance, encouragement, support and prayers.

I am grateful!

Test Your Memory

As you read this book, look for the answers to the questions below:

1.    What did I write on the wall in third grade?

2.    What did the milkman charge for a quart of milk?

3.    Who is weary of the struggle?

4.    Who dragged the python?

5.    Who is connected?

6.    How long did the cat live at my house?

7.    What is the Sabbath place?

8.    Who was Boomer?

9.    Who closed the gate at Sinai?

10.    Which president died when I was in the Peace Corps?

11.    Where is my town?

12.    The woman on the back cover of the book is holding up bread. Where did she bake the bread?

* * *

(THE ANSWERS can be found on page 191.)

Wonder

What happens to the wonder with which each child is born?

Could it be that we often fail to see the magic and majesty

in all of life around us?

Perhaps we need to pause more often,

to look and to take time to listen

to the life-beating force around us,

and then to express gratitude

for those special moments in time.

WONDER

Nature

Dulcy

Be Still and Know

Creation

Beyond Ourselves

Freeway Marie Grace

Why

Mom Millie

Nature

Then again . . . Maybe…

When I spend any time at all in nature, I open up; I rekindle a relationship with the natural world. I lose any sense of neediness, and the world opens herself to me. After a while, I feel there is nothing I am seeking, nothing I need.

I can never seem to get enough of nature. Growing up in rural America, I always felt I had everything I needed with the natural beauty around me. My early beginnings were on grandpa’s farm—running barefoot in the dirt, planting a garden, and enjoying the rich black soil, the woods, and the lake nearby. Minnesota’s wide-open prairies were the most beautiful places in the world! It didn’t seem as though life could get any better.

Then later, I saw the Swiss Alps, and I thought nothing was more beautiful than those—soaring to the heavens as if they were managers of the universe! And then, upon seeing the ocean with her powerful, thunderous waves crashing upon the sand, I wondered, could anything possibly top that?

Yes, perhaps the coconut groves in the Philippines—proud and stately, inviting us to enter, to discover her mysteries of enchantment! Or again, what about the Pyramids in Egypt? Or the mighty Mississippi? Or the Great Wall of China? Each discovery seemed to reawaken a new sense of awe.

But no, I think the most beautiful of all might be the Grand Canyon! It is alleged that nature has taken some 600 million years to carve out the Grand Canyon, one of nature’s most amazing creations, and today, we know it as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. With towering cathedrals of rock, seemingly bottomless drops of thousands of feet, and a stratified, brilliantly colored patchwork of limestone, sandstone, and shale canyon walls; it is unquestionably one of the most breathtaking places on the earth! The Grand Canyon is believed to be about 277 miles long, over a mile deep, and eighteen miles wide at some points. To the astronauts, it probably looks something like a massive geographic wound, carved into an area in northern Arizona known as the Colorado Plateau. No, I surmise that, perhaps, the Grand Canyon is indeed the most spectacular of all!

But then, while walking my dog at Island Lake Park in Shoreview, Minnesota, I saw a mother duck with fifteen baby ducks! Is that not a wonder of nature and the most breathtaking of all?

Make a list of your WONDERS.

Dulcy

The Cat Who Wouldn’t Leave

It happened one cold January night when I returned home late from work. Outside the door was a black-and-white young cat, shivering in the cold. I never really cared for cats. The strange thing was though I didn’t like cats, they always seem to find me. I felt sorry for the cat, so I invited it in for the night to sleep in the fireside room, which was at least warmer than outdoors with its zero temperature. Wrong move!

The next morning, as I headed toward the kitchen, I noticed that the cat had jumped up on the windowpane of the fireside room door, her claws hanging on desperately as she peaked into the interior of the house through the window, meowing frantically. To get some peace, I opened the door and gave her some water and something to eat before putting her back outside. I said as I opened the door, Go home. But I don’t want you to freeze, so if you don’t have a home to go to, come back tonight, all the while hoping the cat wouldn’t understand what I was saying. Wrong again!

That night, the cat was back. This went on for days—in and out, out and in. Finally, I thought, This cat is not going to leave, so I might as well give her a chance and myself too. I looked at her in exasperation. OK, I’ll let you stay, but THIS is where you sleep. THIS is where you eat. THIS is where you poop. I continued laying down rules. No clawing! No accidents! If you mess up, out you go.

Guess what? She did everything I requested, obeyed every directive. It turned out that cat was really quite smart!

She was a woman of the street, so I named her Dulcinea (Dulcy for short), from the musical where a street woman finds new meaning through the power of love.

All the while I was thinking, Not all cats live very long. This one probably won’t be around long either. WRONG AGAIN! Dulcinea stayed for seventeen years—SEVENTEEN YEARS! But she was really a good pet. She even tried to bring me a baby bunny one day as payment for her lodging. (We returned the bunny to the safety of its nest.)

Just when I really grew fond of her, she declared her independence. She wanted to roam the streets, but I hesitated to let her outside, thinking she wouldn’t return. Wanting to show unconditional love, however, I decided, If she comes back, it will be because she wants to. If not, it’s time for her to head out on her own. I let her out, and she came back again and again. She had found a home—mine—and she was now in charge!

Dulcy had an uncanny sense for teasing the neighbor dogs. I would hear frantic barking from the backyard and, looking out the window, see Dulcy slowly prancing up and down in front of the neighboring fence, lying down, and stretching on the grass in front of the thwarted dogs. When they realized she wasn’t going to stop her antics, they quit barking and just watched her.

Dulcy had one trick to perform. She would sit up on her hind legs and eat Cheez Whiz off a spoon. She loved it, and everyone enjoyed watching her