I didn't write yesterday - so will catch up today.
A significant lesson I have been aware of recently is that our HARD times do not come as a surprise to God. Whatever we face, he knew it was coming, and he is right there waiting for us to dump it all in his lap in earnest prayer. While we only see the back of the tapestry, where all the knots and snipped threads are apparent, he sees the picture that is being created. Challenges reveal character, and show us very clearly where we need a little work to improve and reflect Jesus more appropriately.
2023 was a difficult year for me in many ways - but it was also punctuated with many joys and I prefer to focus on those! December 15 could have been a hard day, because of the date, but I chose to redeem it by doing something very dear to my heart. I delivered 15 copies of my musical, ROOTS & BRANCHES to multiple people and locations in Montesano.
At the beginning of January 1983, I was approached and asked if "we" (in Montesano) could use a musical production that was done in South Bend. After reading through it I concluded that was not possible - but responded to the inquiry by saying I could use a lot of the songs in it, songs written by Helen Davis, the "matriarch of South Bend", for her opera titled, "Eliza and the Lumberjack."
With that as the rough framework around which I could build, I wrote the dialogue (actually most of it, not all, because the actors - and particularly the narrator who played Rufus - added some great lines which I used in the final draft, and credited happily, giving credit where credit was due). I talked to old-timers who were repositories of the history of the town, perused old Vidette articles (the local town paper), read diaries and accounts written by others, and created a play interspersed with music and vignettes, with the entire production woven together by an "elderly" couple reminiscing about the old days.
In November 1983 we presented the musical as a Community School program to honor our city's centennial celebration, and it was simply titled, The Montesano Centennial Play.
Eight years later we did another version of the 'musical', with some adaptations and improvements included. For that year, it was to honor Montesano as the first tree farm in the nation, as Montesano is dubbed as "Home of the Tree Farm". I renamed it for that year so it would be timeless: Roots & Branches.
In 2021 I started working on getting ready to print and it was a loooonnnnng process: hiring a genius musician to get the music written, getting permissions from the appropriate heirs for using the music in a written document, getting everything typed into my computer, etc. I don't need to bore you with the minutia of the details. Finally, near the end of summer I buckled down and finished what I had started, and got the book into print. It is definitely the culmination of a "bucket list" goal.
I had already mailed lots of copies to people whom I knew would want one - but for delivering this batch I wanted the personal touch. I donated copies to Montesano High School for their library and drama department; donated a few copies to the Montesano W H Abel Memorial Timberland Library; hand-delivered copies to several individuals who were directly involved or good friends who might be interested. It felt GOOD! Had I not created it into a book, the legacy of this particular story would have been lost, and I wanted it to be available to Montesano, as well as to my kids and grandkids. Mission accomplished!
And in the process, I reconnected with people I cherish. It was a win-win!
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