Esther 5:2 “And it happened when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favor in his sight; and the king extended to Esther the golden scepter which was in his hand. So Esther came near and touched the top of the scepter.”
One of my favorite hobbies has been studying my family tree. I come by this probably because my Mom likewise has always had an interest, and we have over the years worked on this together. My Great Aunt had a cousin who did a lot of research on my Grandmother’s family, so that is where I am going to begin, with my Grandmother. Her name was Myrtle Margaret Mary Wetzler Bayless. That’s a pretty long name, but somehow I think it and she have a special bearing on me and my Faith Journey.
My Great Grandparents, Fred and Maggie Wetzler, were German Lutherans. My Dad says that Grandpa Great, as he was known, had a big family Bible. Grandma died many years before I was born, but Grandpa Great was still living. I remember seeing him once, probably in the days before he died, because he was asleep in his bedroom in my Great Aunt’s house. Since I think he died in 1961, I was only 2 years old. Pretty young for that kind of memory, but I do remember. They had 5 children, but only two lived. Their names were Myrtle, my grandmother, Pearl, my Great Aunt, and then there was Grace, Bernice, and Leo. All of their names were profoundly Biblical: Myrtle is found in Scripture a number of times and in some pretty profound ways. Myrtle is the same as Hadassah, and is the name of an evergreen with white flowers used for perfume. Hadassah was the Hebrew name for Queen Esther. As such, Myrtle is profoundly connected to an act of Faith. I think it is no coincidence that the oldest child of my Grandparents was named for a person of Faith and the Providence of God. Myrtle’s other names, first Margaret, is another name meaning Pearl, whereas Mary reminds us both of the story of Ruth, as her mother-in-law Naomi took on the name Mara which means bitterness, as well as Mary the mother of our Lord. Interestingly, my Grandparents also named my Great Aunt Pearl, doubly intensifying this meaning, and causing one to think of the Pearl of Great Price. Grace speaks for itself. Bernice, meaning bringer of victory, is connected to the life of Paul in a very Providential portion of his life. Leo, meaning Lion, is of course a reference to the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Jesus Christ. Myrtle was the oldest of their children, and together their naming tells, I think, a story of Faith and Providence.
My Grandmother, Myrtle, died when I was very young. Nevertheless, I remember 3 events which I hold as significance in my early childhood. I remember a family meal, I think I must have been in a high chair still, but Grandma was there. I think I remember this because everyone laughed at my word for tomato, which was “Bain-Ta.” I don’t know why I remember, but Family and Relationships have always been important to me. I also remember a time when my dad and I visited my Grandmother just before she died. She was in a nursing home. It was a bad place. I think the experience sunk into my memory because it demonstrated that life is short, and that sin has made a mess of our existence in this world. My third memory, really not of Grandma, but of my Grandpa setting a bonfire and taking all of the “stuff” that my Grandmother had collected and burning it before he moved to a smaller house. I remember my Mom collecting many of those objects before they went to the fire. My Grandmother had a lot of interesting and beautiful things, I recall. There were bolts of cloth which my Mom used for various things for many years. My Grandmother worked in a milliner shop. She and my Great Aunt were hat makers. I think that is why she had all the cloth. Overall, I think of beauty when I remember her, even in spite of her sad end. Perhaps my life is affected by both: Beauty comes from a life of Faith in God’s Providence, in spite of the sadness which sin has brought into the world.
There is one other thing I ponder in reference to Myrtle. Bible Prophecy was my earliest interest in Bible Study, and Myrtle plays an unusual role in Prophecy. Zechariah, the close Old Testament Companion to the Book of Revelation, begins with his vision of a man standing among the Myrtle Trees. I have often pondered that passage. That man was given a very important understanding of God’s Plan and His Providential outcome to life’s sin calamity. The message given to the man standing under the Myrtle Trees was one of Faith and Hope. That is the way I want to live my life.
Zechariah 1:16 “Therefore, thus says the LORD, ‘I will return to Jerusalem with compassion; My house will be built in it,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem.’”
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Beauty, Faith, Family, Fragrance, Providence
