Memory (Susan Ault)

Daddy was not a man of the cloth….as they say...the word “cloth” acquired its meaning in 1634 when it began denoting one’s preference for the profession of clergymen.  Daddy was a keeper of the soil and seeds...God’s crops.  In other words he was a farmer (a sower of the seeds).  God’s crops….a farmer...as I said, “a sower of the seeds”.
 
But one year prior to Advent, my mom asked him to design and craft an Advent candle holder with his crafty hands.  Now, my dad really did not see “eye to eye” on any “church doing” with my mom.  In fact, they rarely agreed on anything!  As a small child I wondered how this was going to play out.   Hmmm... daddy make something for the church?!  This is a young girl’s memory of a father giving of his skill and craftsmanship with his often soiled hands to such a noble cause as the Advent Wreath that would be lit each Sunday through the season of Advent.  Would Daddy even consider doing something for the church? There would be no pay, no thanks, but a gift.  You decide.

So, for four weeks the bright candles adorned the church altar.  Every Sunday we five girls and our mom would watch the lighting of the ADVENT CANDLE that Daddy built in preparation for Christmas in our little Norwegian Lutheran Church in that town on the border of North Dakota and Canada.