Introduction
We decided the best place to begin our blog was to introduce one another to you. As I struggle to frame my introduction of Meg, I realize she is simply impossible to capture. Margaret Hodges Burkhalter Jones cannot be lassoed by my writing, which by itself says volumes about who she is — strong and bold of spirit, a pioneer sort of a women. She’s actually quite fearless and determined to live her life to the fullest and to finish well in all God has destined for her times on this earth. She overflows with life, spontaneity, beauty, adventure, art, and “scathingly brilliant ideas” (one of our favorite phrases from an old Haley Mills movie). A signature trademark is most certainly her contagious belly laugh, live-streamed into her by our daddy’s DNA. We shared a bedroom as children, and many nights would get uncontrollable giggles over who knows what. From down the hall we would hear mama, “Giiiiiirls!” I can see in my mind’s eye as clear as ever a picture of Daddy’s face in bed next to her, trying to muffle his own giggles while he joyed in our late night shenanigans. Good humor is never more than a witty thought away, and an eruption of laughter is often the finishing touch to any of our sister escapades.
Maya Angelou said this, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Meg makes me FEEL celebrated. Pure and simple. I’m her little sister, and she thinks I’m extraordinary. It doesn’t matter to her what I may or may not be feeling about myself at any given time. She’s like a wild hunter or an excavator that goes after the goods buried inside of me. So often she sees what I can’t and will lay hold of my gifts and dreams and endless possibilities, pulling them to the surface. Then she fiercely protects and nurtures what she finds and nudges me to build those dreams and then dream bigger. She isn’t shocked by the mess or the wounds she finds there, because she has her own. Maybe a great touchstone of our story is that as God heals each of our souls, He is also knitting our hearts together even tighter.
Even though Meg and I are in our 60’s, it feels like we are just getting started with so much life still ahead of us. Come meet with us in this blog. Maybe you’ll find a sister waiting to unearth the goods inside you. They are there. I know they are. Because God put dreams and treasures in all of us, just waiting to be discovered.
- Beth
Our family of origin was a “yours, mine and ours” tribe. There were five siblings in all with the final two kids arriving to older parents bringing with it the added surprise of fresh vigor and humor. To explain to my momma how this happened - her OBGYN said to her, “Well Mary, this didn't happen from drinking orange juice.” And so the laughter and shock continued until the “crowning laugh” arrived donning red hair. I was three years old when my red-headed baby sister was born on a March day in 1957. It was the most exciting day of my little life! Elizabeth Glen had arrived. Her red hair became a symbol of something that would forever shape my focus in life! With a passion for art and color, my sister's redhead would govern every other color that I would grow to love. My sister Beth both then and now is one of the greatest gifts God has ever given to me! And I’m so excited to introduce her to you as we begin this blog adventure.
Beth is brilliant! It didn't take momma and daddy long to figure out exactly what this entailed because her insightful humor, voracious learning capacity and mental ability to decode complex problems pretty much overwhelmed both my parents and her teachers. I recall overhearing discussions between momma and daddy about Beth. To say that they marveled is an understatement. The fact that we became best friends in the family is still playing out in this life as mothers and grandmothers and lovers of God. We certainly had our challenges and heartaches of which I am sure we will be sharing some of this with you on our blog. We shared a family that was rich in cousins, days and days of play, games, book reading, dress ups...our list is pretty long. But most of all, we share “sisterhood”! It is from these life stories and life lessons learned that we want to share what we have been given. It is said that “each gives what he or she has”. We hope to unpack these “goods” over time through our blog. Welcome to the bethandmeg blog.
- Meg
We want to introduce our readers to Katy Willson who will be what we have termed the “Chatelaine” for our blog. The description of a chatelaine is a woman who is in charge of a large household or establishment oftentimes represented by the many “keys” which she wears about her waist garments. Katy is both a developing writer and leader of her generation, and we felt it important to combine the sounds, thoughts, opinions and observations of both the older and younger generation for this blog. The conversation between the generations has never been more important! The scripture says in Malachi 4:6, “And He will restore the hearts of the children to the fathers and the hearts of the fathers to the children, lest I come and smite the land with a curse.” Taking that Biblical exhortation to heart, we hope to contribute to a larger dialogue that displays the ways in which the older and younger generations can engage and present a smorgasbord of views.
Katy is like a chatelaine of a large household. She is one who has been found trustworthy with the keys of both the public and private rooms of our own homes and hearts. She has been an example of honor towards her parents and elders, a faithful witness of the Lord and His goodness towards her, a vital member of her faith community and someone that both Beth and I find worthy of praise.
