Sandy Inspiration
The spring in Lubbock is always an interesting time. The weather can’t seem to make it’s mind up about what it wants to be: cold or hot, windy or less windy, nasty or nice. Living on the south plains now for over a decade I’ve grown accustomed to most of the nuances of our atmospheric conditions…except for one: the haboob. I don’t know that I’ll ever get used to those, no matter how long I live here. I think I still have sand in my mouth from the last one that rolled through town.
When Kaley’s grandparents were first married they lived in north Texas. They told us legendary tales about life during the dust bowl era. As teachers who were too poor to afford glass windows, they said it wasn’t uncommon to come home after a storm to find little sand dunes on their bedspread and dirt all through the house. I marveled at their willingness to persevere in such a hard time, how they cleaned off the bed and swept out the house, however many times and for however long it took. That was simply part of life on the plains in that day, they did what needed to be done.
Hard to believe it’s been over 80 years and still the best technology to battle a haboob is a glass window. The more things change the more they stay the same — that’s not always a bad thing. That spirit of doing what needed to be done became a hallmark for both Poppa and Nonna. It manifested itself in a life of service that they modeled to friends, family, co-workers, and church members. For them, serving was at the very heart of who they were and what they were about. It was the primary rubric of their lives, helping them determine everything from career path to financial plans. It’s something I was the distinct beneficiary of in countless ways as I was welcomed into the family. It inspired me then and still inspires me today.
In fact, a life of service is what inspired this issue of By the Way magazine. As we head towards May and to our annual Mission Sunday, we wanted to share some of the incredible stories of service that have happened in and through Broadway in the last year. Like a tiny grain of sand, we hope these stories will stick with you for a while and inspire you to shake out your shoes and get to work in the year ahead!