“Being the bigger person is a lifelong journey of self-discovery and personal growth. It’s about choosing kindness over resentment, wisdom over impulsiveness, and empathy over judgment. It can also mean rising above pettiness, anger, and resentment, and choosing compassion over retaliation.” ~ Darrel Burks
Not all survival stories are about people. Sometimes they’re about treasures. When the tornado destroyed the Conley homeplace, it was too damaged to go inside to salvage any personal property. Betina said, “of all the things in that house, I wish I’d gotten my letterman jacket out of that upstairs closet.” As the days of clean-up went by, the excavators and dozers cleared debris, her husband Andrew was walking down a muddy dozer track when something caught his eye. Crumpled and torn in a muddy pile lay Betina’s beloved letterman jacket. One arm was nearly ripped off. He quietly put it into a trash bag and brought it to a dry cleaner in Berea. They cleaned it and charged him $6.00. He took it across the street to a seamstress. She sewed the arm back on. He presented it to his wife only after it had been fully repaired. Betina modeled the jacket for us yesterday. Isn’t it amazing? I tell you what, that Betina married good for sure. Andrew Gardner is a keeper.
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