In order to fully appreciate the story I'm going to tell, you first have to know two other stories.
The first one involves my great-grandma, who we affectionately called Nanny Jones. She was my dad's grandma, and as feisty a woman as you'd ever encounter. Feisty meaning she would go outside and shoot a squirrel out of a tree if she wanted to make a squirrel stew. She would babysit us sometimes and we just loved her to pieces. She passed away when I was in high school, but she had been hit by a truck when I was in fourth grade and that was when I lost the Nanny I knew. Some of my most vivid memories of her were how much I loved her sweet potato pie-I've never tasted another like it. I don't even eat them anymore! I just gave up. Also, every time you left her house, she would give you a "piece of money" as she called it. She would fold up a $1 or $5 bill and end up with a small square about the size of a postage stamp. She would put it in your pocket and tell you "Don't tell your Mom and Dad I gave you this piece of money." We loved that! And of course we always told! Ha! My favorite memory of Nanny though was dancing with her in her living room. She had a HUGE radio, you know the old ones that were a huge piece of furniture and took up half the room? That was her radio. She loved George Jones. We spent many nights dancing to George Jones in her little living room.
Fast forward to January of this year, and my Uncle Jimmy was at the very end of his battle with brain cancer. He had insisted on listening to a country music television station for days. It was a little after midnight when a religious song came on. No one had heard a religious song on the station, but one came on at this moment. There was about 30 people in the room talking, and suddenly everyone was quiet. The song was so perfect for the situation and when it ended, he took his last breath and went to be with the Lord. Everyone was amazed at the timing and the "Jesus moment" we all shared. It was too ironic to be coincidence. The song was one I had not heard, "Me and Jesus" by none other than George Jones. My aunt had it played at the funeral, but you just couldn't re-create the moment at the house unless you were there.
It is a peppy song, and I decided to download it this weekend after my cousin said it had been running through her head for days.
I played it for the kids, who immediately started dancing. I found myself being beckoned to dance in the kitchen to George Jones, with my three kiddos, who now know most of the words to "Me and Jesus" because they had me play it over and over and over......
It has been probably 24 years or so since I've danced joyfully to George Jones. Interesting I thought.....
The song is good if you want to download it-very "old school country".
It says "Me and Jesus,
We got our own thing going....
Me and Jesus,
We got it all worked out....
Me and Jesus,
We got our own thing going..
We don't need anybody to tell us what it's all about."
Enough said I think! :-)
Amen, George!
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