This week I reread a short biography about one of my great great grandfathers. One thing that was apparent throughout his little book was the gratitude he felt for having survived difficult things and for having received the strength he needed to overcome harmful habits, even after years of indulging. For my post to the Six Sentence Stories - Journey, a blog hop hosted by Denise at Girlie On The Edge's Blog, I am sharing in my own words a glimpse into the life of Valentine Kimes Junior (1811-1892).
Like many children wanting to test the waters and throw caution to the wind, he resisted the warning to stay on the bank when the older boys were allowed to swim in Virginia's Holston River; when they finished swimming and headed home, he ignored another young boy’s caution not to go in the water. Miraculously after jumping from a rocky ledge into the river below and immediately sinking to the bottom, he managed to somehow crawl through the deep water to shore and to safety, never the worse for wear.
Not all water related accidents were so kind to him, and may or may not have been his fault, when at about age 16 he incurred a life threatening injury, cutting his left knee and completely severing the main artery while working on a mill wheel. During the month that followed after the accident, there was little hope for him as he got lockjaw, scarlet fever, pneumonia, and his skin turned black, but he lived to tell about it.
In his mid fifties, during the time of the Civil War, and before water treatment plants, etc. he became ill with cholera for nine days before beginning to mend, and he described it as his worst sickness while living in Arkansas.
Through some of these experiences and others in his journey through life, he came to know that there was a God who loved him and heard his prayers.
I am glad he came to know God through his journey, a walk well done.
ReplyDeleteMe too. His journey through life touched me in many different ways at different times in my life, and continues to do so.
DeleteWhat a journey!
ReplyDeleteYes, it really was.
DeleteLove this. Every one should journey toward our Creator.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I agree.
Deleteyow!
ReplyDeleteExcellent view into not only another's life, but one that took place in a time as different as anything we might imagine... that whole, after surviving a life-threatening injury, equally serious illness lurks along the path to recovery.
Engaging Six
Thank you. It really is a blessing to me to know about some of the details of his life and his feelings about what he experienced. It would be wonderful to know more of the details of the lives of my other ancestors, other than just what one can find in the vital records, etc. Having a copy of his writings certainly was a motivating factor in my own desire to write in my own journal(s).
DeleteI would certainly say God heard his prayers but can't help wonder if perhaps God had his own reasons for helping your great great grandfather through all his difficult and life threatening experiences.
ReplyDeleteSome of the reasons we experience certain things in our lives does seem to become more discernible over time, if not in the moment. I imagine that many of the things we experience in mortality are opportunistic lessons that can draw a person to God if one is willing.
DeleteWow! He was made of some tough stuff, and he was truly blessed.
ReplyDeleteThat was what I thought. The pain he went through must have been awful and was also unbearable for his parents, family and friends to observe.
DeleteBrilliant you have this journal to see how your relative lived and what he endured back then.
ReplyDeleteThank you. It has been a great blessing to me.
DeleteWas he known as 'Lucky'?
ReplyDeleteHaHa, not that I know of. I suspect there were others who lived during those times who suffered similarly, but there is no record written where they shared their experiences.
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