A Dear Friend Named Martha!

 

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”*

When Al’s mom, Char, passed away at the age of 97, a new home was needed for her childhood doll. The only thing known about Char’s doll was that her name was Martha. Perhaps Martha had been a birthday present or Christmas gift when Char was a young girl.

Martha’s features and her blonde hair were painted on her porcelain head. Her arms and legs were also made of porcelain and were attached to a cloth body.

The doll showed the signs of having been much loved. Her clothes had long since disappeared; most of her hair had been worn off, and her hands were badly chipped. Each of her bare feet was covered by a band aid.

Even with a big scrape on her porcelain nose, Martha still had a slight smile, showing off  bright red lipstick! Engraved on her back were the words, “Century Dolls.” That was enough of a clue to find out that Martha was most likely a “Century Sears Sunshine Doll,” manufactured in Germany from 1914-1928 and sold by Sears, Roebuck and Company.

Born in 1917, Char would have been growing up in Michigan with her siblings in that same time frame. Cost back then? Less than $1.25! Is Martha valuable now? Only to me and perhaps to others in the family.

One day at a craft show in Porterville, I came upon a booth where a talented seamstress was displaying children’s clothes and little girls’ dresses. When I asked if she would be willing to make a doll’s dress, she agreed.

When I retrieved Martha from her several days later, not only was she clothed in a pretty dress, but she was also wearing flowered pantaloons that matched the dress and a white lace cap. Martha  was beginning to look like a “Sunshine” doll again!

I was tempted to paint over the scraped spot on her nose. However, that spot reminded me of the time my own mom had dressed me up to enter a “Little Miss Sunshine” contest. The photo of the winner of the contest was to be put on the cover of Sunshine Bread.

While waiting for mom to take me, I decided to play on our swing set. Unfortunately, I lost my balance and took a nose dive into the dirt. Mom was appalled when I ran into the house with a scrape on my nose. She considered putting peanut butter on it, but finally gave up. I definitely wasn’t “Little Miss Sunshine!”

 With the passing of the years, Martha the doll has come to mean more to me, reminding me of the aging process, of Char and my mom too. Recently, in a conversation with Leslie, the special friend who introduced Al and me forty years ago, I mentioned something my mom once said about growing older: “The hardest thing about growing older is losing your friends.”

 “When we were young, we went to birthday parties, then graduations, weddings, …and now funerals,” she commented.

Al, Leslie and I are mourning the loss of a good hiking buddy whom the three of us had known from the beginning of our friendship. We’ve been able to find comfort by talking, praying together and sharing scripture.

Drawing near to the Lord when our hearts are broken and resting in the assurance of His love brings peace. It would be nice if the world would stop spinning for a while and we could get off…however, it doesn’t. Things keep rushing on as though nothing happened.

But God knows our pain, Jesus feels our sorrow. When his friend Lazarus died, Jesus reassured Lazarus’ sister, another Martha, with these words:

 “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” Then he asked,  “Do you believe this?” (John 11: 25-26 NIV)

Upon reaching Lazarus’ tomb, Jesus wept along the friends and family who were there grieving for their deceased loved one. Then a miracle took place…Jesus called his name and told him to come out of the tomb. And Lazarus did!

How comforting is the promise of eternal life through faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior! What a great reason for us to rejoice, what a great cause for hope.

As Jesus asked Martha if she believed his words, so he asks us.

I believe. Do you?

*Psalm 147:3 NIV