A Baby Is Given
An indestructible piece of clay
Was placed in a couple’s hands one day.
Chosen, selected with skill and precision
There was to be no needed revision.
Just love and care and close observation,
Attention, direction, and no consternation.
The plan of the Father needs no interference.
His aim is the best He gives His assurance.
Margarett Inez Bates
Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. (Psalm 127:3-5)
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)
Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. (Colossians 3:21)
National Crisis
Our nation right now is at a crisis
Because we have not paid the prices.
For tomorrow we were not concerned,
So the cost of apathy we’re about to learn.
Many children run the street like dogs.
The way we eat resembles that of hogs.
Self-restraint we can’t seem to find,
That’s why we have no peace of mind.
Our families are split or shattered,
Because self to us is what really mattered.
We’ve put God and His Word out of our lives.
They must be put back if we are to survive.
It seems appetites had all our attention.
Learn from the past we had no intention.
Forgetting tomorrow, we just lived for the day,
Making a debt we could never pay.
Now we must start to mend our foundations,
And begin to be concerned about our salvation.
Let’s do our jobs and forget all the chatter.
God and our families really do matter.
We must love our children,
And time with them spend,
If this nation God gave us is ever to mend.
Margarett Inez Bates
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the
people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.
(Psalm 33:12)
Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach
to any people. (Proverbs 14:34)
Lucy and Joe
(1959 family photo; children, from oldest to youngest (from right to left): Eva, Harvey, Claude, Ray, Betty, Margarett, and Joseph; Mother: Lucy, and Father: Joseph)
Listen folks, this is all true.
It’s about the beginning of something new.
The adventure is common as some stories go.
But here the two main characters are Lucy and Joe.
The yarn they started was long overdue
And it’s hard to believe what these two would do.
Although they grew up together neither one knew,
They’d be together before life was through.
Joe was a dude, dark and thin, but not tall,
A handsome fellow and that’s not all.
Lucy was petite with light brown hair,
To say she was beautiful would be fair.
Joe popped the question when Lucy was twenty-one
And these two would be married before a year was done.
Their first child was a daughter
And the last was a son.
There were five in the middle
By the time they were done.
Three girls and four boys was the roll call.
T’was a beautiful family and that’s not all.
They started out with love on their side;
And for twenty-nine years they did abide.
Knoxville, Tennessee is where it all started.
But Tennessee and this family were soon to be parted.
With their seven children and no job to be found,
Joe began searching in towns all around.
South Carolina is where he began.
But Kokomo, Indiana is where the search would end.
Lucy left for Kokomo in 1943
With six kids, baby Joe on her knee.
They didn’t have much money but they were alive.
And by the love they had they were sure to survive.
This family was blessed to have beans, and some meat
Along with hard times they were sure to beat.
For Joe factory work was not on his side.
Lucy said he took ill in 1945.
They moved to Paoli in 1946,
Thinking the country would provide a fix.
But for the boys the country was a bore.
Simply the move didn’t help the score.
One by one they would return to the City.
The family soon followed with their dog and a kitty.
Kokomo was the place they thought fine
And they were all together in 1949.
Margarett Inez Bates
(1949 family photo; back row: Father: Joseph Estel, Harvey, Eva Mae, Mother: Lucy; second row: Joseph, Margarett, Betty; front row: Ray and Claude. We were living at 1116 S. Emery St., Darrough Chapel, Kokomo, IN)
Seven Children
Seven children, seemed unneeded,
Caught in fates sucking sound,
Running, moving, seldom settled,
Never planted on the ground.
Could it be that we were special,
Treasures each a priceless jewel,
Was our family just a school?
Yes, I believe families are special.
Within life dramas thus unfolds.
Although it passes our attention,
Through each part a storys told.
Listen close, the curtain is rising.
Once only a chance arrives.
Let’s remember this one statement.
Family only by love survives.
So we’ll press on in spite of turmoil,
Hurting or come what may,
Let’s hold firm onto each other,
Knowing it is worth the price we pay.
Without a doubt we all are precious,
Matchless no one can compare,
Forever we will be united and agree
Cause we were there.
Margarett Inez Bates