I grew up in Mississippi . . . .

I grew up in Mississippi and now reside in Louisiana. I am the mother of one precious daughter. I have had careers as a teacher and registered nurse. Using the name Jane Riley, I have published a novel, SOLOMON'S PORCH and a story cookbook, FLAVORED WITH LOVE.

I have co-authored a story cookbook, THE COLLARD PATCH, with Paul Elliott. In preparing DO YOU KNOW HOW GOD LOVES YOU? I have benefited from Paul’s editing and spiritual guidance. Uniquely qualified to assist me, he is a devoted follower of Christ, a retired physician, a marketer, and a lover of language.

When my mother, Myrtle, was a little girl, she understood that her family loved her as long as someone was near and giving her constant attention. As a small member of a large bustling family, she would lose sight of her parents’ and sisters’ love occasionally and act out to gain reassurance.

It was time to hoe the crop in the field near the house. The parents, Mary Jane and Bud, left Katie and Rosa with household chores, including preparation of lunch, and also taking care of mischievous Myrtle and baby Idell. Most of the time the parents would be within earshot of their girls.

By midmorning when Katie and Rosa were busy attending to cooking lunch on the wood stove and changing the baby’s diaper, Myrtle, who had been instructed not to go outside unaccompanied, sneaked out to gain some attention. She had a plan. She knew how she could scare her sisters enough that they would play with her. If they loved her, they would have entertained her, she thought.

On the far side of the house, where she was never allowed to go alone, there was a loose board. She had heard it bump in the wind and observed that it sounded exactly like another sound that came from the nearby well. To draw water from the open well with its big hole large enough for her to climb into and fall 100 feet before hitting water, it was necessary to unhook the rope and place the attached bucket into the hole. (The water bucket was a long narrow cylinder with a flap at the bottom.) The rope uncurled from the crank beside the frame to lower the bucket until it made a noise as it hit the water. Then the flap would open to allow water to flow into the bucket. When it filled, the flap would close. I don’t know quite why, but we described that second sound as “the water sinking.” It was the signal to start drawing the water from the well.

Myrtle knew how to get Katie or Rosa to come looking for her. She popped the board on the side of the house and crawled under the house to hide. Katie and Rosa did not hear the noise, but Mary Jane, her mother, hoeing on the end of a row nearby did! Mary Jane yelled, “Myrtle’s done fell in the well. I heard the water sink! Come on, Bud! I shouldn’t have left my babies and gone to the field. Run, Bud. I heard the water sink! Myrtle’s in the well!”

They went running and yelling to the house. Bedlam broke loose. Katie went running out, and Rosa came behind her with baby Idell in her arms. By then Myrtle was too frightened go come out. She knew what would happen to her. Finally Bud called, “Myrtle!”

She could not resist his call. She had so much respect and love for him that she never wanted to disappoint him. “Yes, Papa!” she said from underneath the house, and she crawled out to face her punishment.

(Shared from my new book, DO YOU KNOW HOW GOD LOVES YOU?)

"For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth." (Proverbs 3:12)