Levi and Clara--Part 4

Legacy of Faith

At a previous family reunion, I remember hearing Mary say that she remembers when her father began conducting family devotions.  At this reunion she amended that to take into account something her older siblings told her later.  Apparently family devotions had happened earlier, but had fallen by the wayside somewhere along the line.  Mary's memory was about the restoration of the practice rather than its beginning.

I asked for memories of specific prayers Levi and Clara prayed, and Paul recited several German prayers he was taught to pray at bedtime.  The only one I remember any part of starts with Ich bin klein;  Mein hertz ist rein.  (I am small; my heart is pure.)  It was the first prayer the children learned to recite.  If anyone reading this would fill in more information, I'd be delighted.  Memories of mealtime prayers would be welcome too.

"Glory Gates" (words and music by George P. Hott) was  one of Clara's favorite songs, and we sang it together at the reunion.  Here are the words:

I am looking for the city built of God
Where the many mansions be.
I am walking now the path that Jesus trod
And his face I soon shall see.

Chorus:
Oh the glory gates are ever open wide
Inviting the world to come.
Oh the glory gates are ever open wide
To welcome the weary home.

Through the valley of the shadow I may go,
But His grace shall be my stay;
Though the path be dark and dangerous, I know
He will guide me all the way.      Chorus.

'Tis the glory now that fills and thrills my soul
As I walk the narrow way.
I am looking for the heav'nly light to dawn
That shall rise in endless day.      Chorus.

Reading these words now reveals to me sentiments I'm glad to know Clara held close to her heart.  She died at the age of 58.  I remember hearing near the time of her death that she would talk to God aloud at times, saying "Please let me go."  Intense pain from her cancer might have prompted the words, but it tells me too that she was looking forward to where she was going--to God in glory, and saw in her mind wide-open welcoming gates to that place.

Levi apparently found public expression in church difficult.  One of the children said he "froze up" in such situations.  I have no explanation for this, beyond the obvious fact that he grew up in a church tradition heavy on ritual in worship and light on spontaneity for lay members, so he lacked opportunity for participation early in life, except as a member of the audience.  Most of his sons could speak fluently in public, and all could communicate clearly.  Levi himself visited easily in informal settings.  

In 1958, when Center church was organized, Levi and Clara were part of it.  Clara's funeral was the very first one after the reorganization.  About eight months prior to this, Levi and Clara's youngest child, Emma, was married to Ollie.  Their wedding was the first wedding.

I'm certain that this section does not do justice to what could be shared about Levi and Clara's spiritual legacy, but it's all I know, except perhaps the most important legacy of all--twelve children who each followed Christ in life, and made a difference in their homes, their classrooms, their churches, and their communities.  I especially admire the servanthood evident in their lives--leadership too, of course, in a variety of ways, but in all of their lives,  really solid contributions for the good of others.