Jacki C King

Many children growing up don’t have their grandparents active in their lives. For most of us, it takes our grandparents being taken away from us to fully understand their stories and experiences through life that formed the foundations of their families and ours. It seems with age I look back and determine that I have taken for granted so much of what God allowed for me to have in family.

My dad’s parents were in the ministry. My grandfather was a very successful preacher that influenced and changed several, churches, communities, and families in the name of the Gospel. As a little girl I remember grandpa always coming into town and us getting to eat at Panchos. I remember hours and hours in stores like Michaels and Hobby Lobby as my grandma Betty Jo would gather and collect supplies for her many projects that she had throughout the year. I honestly dreaded those hours in craft stores. She taught me how to knit, but it didn’t last very long due to my inability to stay on task for a long period of time.

In my reflection of wanting an older woman in my life and contemplating what God had taught me throughout the years, I began to think of my grandma Betty Jo. It seems ever since I got married, Granny and I have become closer thanks to email. She was there to make my bright orange garter, to make the bridesmaid dresses, she was there with my miscarriage earlier this fall as I struggled and came to terms with such a harsh reality. She was there all through the years of me growing up, just not as prominent in my mind as of now. I emailed her and asked if she would share some of her ups and downs in life as a mom and ministers wife. So here is a series of blogs maybe two maybe ten, of the colliding and lessons learned of two generations.

Granny’s Beginning:

“In the beginning, as I said, I grew up in a Christian home. We used to kid that Mother and Daddy were there every time the church doors were open, and stayed until they closed – every service. Mother taught an adult women’s Sunday School class. Daddy was Sunday School Superintendent many years and taught some classes later on.

I was under conviction for some time. For some reason or other, I wanted Mother to talk to me about becoming a Christian. One Sunday morning, when she was combing my hair for Sunday School, she just said simply, “Would you like to give your heart to Jesus?” I said, “Yes!” She must have observed my struggles during the invitations at church. I turned my life over to Jesus immediately and made it public during the morning service that day. I had a little bit of a cold. Mother and Daddy wanted me to wait until I was better before I was baptized. Several people were being baptized that night (because a revival was finishing up). I said, “No, I want to be baptized tonight.” So, they agreed to let me. My cold didn’t get worse!

I grew up tithing my small allowance, reading my Bible daily, going to Vacation Bible School, then helping in Bible School. I had begun piano lessons at age 6, so as soon as I could play hymns, I was the pianist for our Sunday School department opening assembly.

When I began to date, I would always try go get my current “boyfriend” to go to church with me. The one I dated the longest, made his decision to follow the Lord after we had many conversations. I was thrilled to see him baptized. We have had contact through High School reunions in recent years. He is still a dedicated Christian, so he meant it when he made his decision.

During a youth revival when I was in High School, I felt very strongly that the Lord was calling me into special service. At that time, I didn’t know what kind of special service. The only kind I knew of for females was being missionaries overseas. That didn’t seem to be what I was called to do. Daddy talked to me about it. I told him that I didn’t know but I would follow the Lord’s leading day by day.

When I was 13 or 14 years old, I decided I wanted to go to Oklahoma Baptist University to college. Daddy had gone there to finish his High School education when they still had what they called a Prep school. I found out it was much more expensive than a state school, so I told my folks I would go to a state school instead. Daddy said, “No, we’ll manage it somehow.” So, I went to O.B.U. and began majoring in Music Education.

We lived in Altus, Oklahoma, when I was in the third through half of the eighth grades. Then, we moved to Mountain View, Oklahoma. Daddy was Superintendent of Schools. I dated some. I dated one boy (the one I mentioned above) for quite some time. When I went to college, we went our separate ways. I didn’t date seriously for quite some time.

A young man from Altus, Roy Canada, came to O.B.U. our sophomore year. We had gone to the same church in Altus, his mother was in my mother’s Sunday School class. Roy and I re-met at college and began dating steadily near the beginning of our Junior year. We were engaged shortly before Thanksgiving. We had visited with each other a lot the previous year and even had one date.

Our plans were to get married September 10th and go back to college together for our Senior year. Then, I developed some eye trouble that could have caused me to go blind. I couldn’t use my eyes to study and especially to work with music that fall. We had to postpone our wedding, also. We got married on Christmas Day of 1950 – during the Christmas holidays from school.

He finished up his work at O.B.U. shortly after Christmas and enrolled in the Seminary in Fort Worth for the spring semester. We moved into a small apartment down there. Before long, I realized I was expecting our first child.

This is a good stopping place for now. I think this is running on too long, but it seems that each sentence leads into something else. I will take up from here later on. It seems that I have written to you about our life together previously. Maybe not. Let me know. I know that some of this was not in a previous account, though.

Perhaps the “highs and lows” will be what I need to write about. Really, for the most part, I’m not a “high and low” person. My temperament stays fairly even. In fact, one college roommate who was very passionate (showing her highs and lows) couldn’t understand how I could stay so even tempered. I do have feelings, but I don’t feel it necessary to express them openly often. However, raising 5 children brought out some of those in me!!! I’ll have to give that some thought, though.

Bye for now – Granny BJ”

It seems with a story there comes a lesson. Granny’s parents had a huge impact in her life as she was growing up, as she and my parents brought me up “in the ways of the Lord.” She was from a very early age sharing he love of Christ with others around her. What her parents had instilled in her is a reflection of what is instilled in me today. Being a teenager in the 40’s and a young adult in the 50’s still seemed to consist of dating and marriage, and starting families together. I remember granny telling me the story of them being at Southwestern Seminary and sharing a two bedroom apartment with another family, as she was expecting her second child I believe. They had one bathroom.

I think back to how long ago that was, and then am faced with my own reality of a husband in a seminary and the process of dating and marrying. It seems as though through her stories I have a small reflection of my own. Different details but the same picture.