CHILDHOOD REMINDERS

When I first came to Wichita Falls, Joe and Eloise were living over on Hursh, and I remember going to call on them one day. The front door cradled a lovely stained-glass window. When I asked about it, Joe said, "It’s from the old church in Vernon." Every time he entered and left his home, he would see a reminder of his childhood.

Ken, I believe, has one of the doors from the old Vernon church. If I’m not mistaken, it was the door from the sanctuary into the hallway. I mention it because it played a role in Joe’s life. The door had stained glass panels, but in the center, at just about eye-level for an adult, there was a round, beveled clear-glass window. If you were outside the sanctuary, you could look in – that is, if you were tall enough. Joe once told his family that, as a kid, he used to think, "When I can see through that window, I’ll know I’m grown up."

It’s a telling line – isn’t it? – because the Scripture speaks often of growing up.