Stand in Holy Places

As New House inches towards completion, I have begun snapping photos of the things I'll miss in dear old American Fork. The temple, the amphitheater, the rose stencil on the electrical box across from the cemetery, the stained glass in the library's atrium, the pioneer cabin. The Presbyterian "Footloose Church" built in 1877 and its bells that ring on the hour (I went in and they let me manually ring the bell...pretty sure that puts me one degree from Kevin Bacon). The art deco clock at Sweet Pea Floral's old Main Street location, the AFFC's pool and red slide; RE was the first person to slide down it after "bubble removal" in 2011. The train tracks RE and I walked on so many times to catch the bus and have adventures (and the same tracks I made her walk on to buy me gas station Cheetos when I was pregnant).

The crabapple on 500 North that has taken shape over half a century; the prettiest tree in the city. The robot mailbox on Ticket Hill (Junior High hill). The black and white Boley Building that reminds me of the Toot Sweets scene in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I went to photograph the fake deer at the post office but apparently they just cracked and got thrown away (after all those years! Max used to sniff them like crazy). I did, however, film the spider that drops from the ceiling every time you push the door open in October. That thing is a legend I copied in my own home. FYI, Draper Post Office has a thousand furious reviews and no decorated workspaces with pictures of grandchildren, Easter grass, or kitschy mementos. Sadness.

I captured The Glass Slipper's manicured English garden, the marquee at The Sticky (our two-show movie theater named for the feel of the floor), and the giant rooster guarding American Fork Pawn. Perfectly parallel rows of Mitchell's pink peach blossoms. The trickling brook behind our fence where RE and Archer have been Boxcar children. American Fork Hospital, where all three of my babies gave their first fisted wails and home to some of the greatest cuisine around (no joke). The compass pressed into Launa's concrete that Archer knows so well.

And this porch:

It was on this porch at dusk I told Blue-eyed Becca I was expecting Everett. She screamed and heaven's ceiling cracked. Then she began weeping and we embraced each other. We hugged at length while she repeated my name over and over. In that moment, I thought This is how Mary and Elizabeth must have hugged after their babies leaped. I still refer to it as my "Bible hug." Becca had screamed loud enough that little fingers and eyes began to pull and peek through the slats of the blinds. Matt came out to make sure things were okay. Then Matt got a hug and a piece of the crying action. I stood on these steps with two of my pillars and gushed about healing and miracles. It was a circle of safety, of heavenly love, and of mega cheerleading.

I know that once upon a time Becca wanted to re-pour these steps. Maybe she thought they needed a sprucing but I love them just as they are. I look at them as a historic landmark, for it was here I realized I was standing on my promises* with two people who never gave up on them being fulfilled.

Happy Birthday (and Mother's Day) to the one and the only Blue-eyed Becca! The woman who utters only kindness, the chorister with fitness instructor arms, and the person who is petite, polite, and perfectly postured. I love her granola, her Hyde Park honey cookies, her vibrato, her soul, and yes, her steps.

"Standing on the Promises"

Russell K. Carter, published 1886

Standing on the promises of Christ my King,

Through eternal ages let His praises ring,

Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,

Standing on the promises of God.

Refrain:

Standing, standing,

Standing on the promises of Christ my Savior;

Standing, standing,

I’m standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises that cannot fail,

When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,

By the living Word of God I shall prevail,

Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises I now can see

Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me;

Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free,

Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,

Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,

Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,

Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises I cannot fall,

List’ning every moment to the Spirit’s call,

Resting in my Savior as my all in all,

Standing on the promises of God.

I just discovered this song thanks to an old replay of Music and the Spoken Word. Last night's double date in the freezer aisle at forty minutes to midnight confirmed Matt and Becca already knew it. Of course the conductor and the song bird knew this song. Well, it's our song now!