By Brenda Black
The fictitious setting of Mayberry,
made famous by Andy Griffith, became America's icon for community.
Simpler times and Aunt Bea's recipes made Mayberry home sweet home
for five decades and still counting. Sincere and quirky characters
helped the rest of us feel more normal. Most of all, Mayberry made us
feel safe. The doors were never locked, Sheriff Andy didn't carry a
gun and Deputy Fife couldn't shoot the one he owned. Andy Griffith
helped perpetuate Mayberry's nostalgic image for eight years in black
and white. The legacy lives on today through the magic of media,
while we bid the beloved star good bye. Griffith died Tuesday, July
3, 86 years young.
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I grew up on Mayberry and I can
whistle the theme song. I know all of the characters and still giggle
at the reruns. I've reached the age to finally fit the affectionate
name -- “Aunt B”-- that my nieces and nephews gave me back in my
20's. I'm still a fan of the simpler things in life and enjoy a
little front porch picking and singing or company stopping by. And I
am blessed to have friends that are more like family, similar to
those in that little North Carolina town. It's just a Mayberry
mindset that color TV, busy lives nor time can erase. As fast as the
world whizzes by these days, a slow trip back to Mayberry is good
medicine for what ails ya.
Mayberry is more than just a pretend
place wherein reside fictitious characters who never age. Mayberry
is a state of consciousness, a heavenly perspective, that can exist
anywhere. So how do we go about Mayberry blessing the world around
us?
I try to live more simply, and do more
with what I have. I extend more hospitality and open my door and my
heart to those who need family or a place to just hang out. I sing
louder in church and I'm quicker to laugh as my years go racing by.
And why not! I go fishing or ride a horse when my sons ask. I say the
Pledge of Allegiance with gusto! Sometimes, in Aunt Bea fashion, I
wear an apron and bake something filled with flour and sugar and
love. What I'm really saying is I try to live in such a way that
expresses joy in all its many forms.
There is no perfect place, but I can
impact this imperfect world with something better. Even Mayberry had
its trials and tribulations. In real life, Andy Griffith suffered
some pretty hard reality – two divorces and a son who died much too
early. But he also found Christ and worshiped while he lived and died
knowing Him as Savior. He left that comforting reassurance with his
family.
"Andy was a person of incredibly
strong Christian faith and was prepared for the day he would be
called Home to his Lord," Griffith's wife, Cindi, said in a
statement released to the press. "He is the love of my life, my
constant companion, my partner, and my best friend. I cannot imagine
life without Andy, but I take comfort and strength in God's Grace and
in the knowledge that Andy is at peace and with God."
Wherever you live in this fallen and
very real world, you can experience Mayberry blessings, as long as
you know the Lord who is Holy and Perfect. Christ dwells in the
hearts of men that they might know peace in the midst of
imperfection. He resides where He is welcome and worshiped. Then He
leaves it up to us to share what we know of this joyous and loving
Christ with those in our household and community.
“At that hour of the night the
jailer took them [Paul and Silas] and washed their wounds; then
immediately he and all his family were baptized. The jailer brought
them into his house and set a meal before them, and the whole family
was filled with joy, because they had come to believe in God.”
(Acts 16:33-34)
Do you remember what first got the
jailer's attention? Paul and Silas were praying and singing! They
were Mayberry blessing a dungeon. If that doesn't stoke your fire,
you're wood's all wet! Sometimes all it takes to brighten the world
is a little bit of something godly good. In honor of Andy, go be a
Mayberry Blessing.
copyright 2012 The Word's Out - Brenda Black
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