Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Karen Spears Zacharias

Home
Evangelical
God’s Poetry in a Doll

God’s Poetry in a Doll

Last updated on: January 14, 2013 at 1:31 am by Karen Spears Zacharias

God’s Poetry in a Doll 2013-01-14T01:31:29+00:00 Karen Spears Zacharias

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

You ever have one of those ah-ha moments when you discover something you would never would have had somebody not asked you the right question?

I had one of those moments while answering some questions posed to me about my writing. Somebody had asked me something about MOTHER OF RAIN and in answering that question, I recalled a doll that had been a favorite of mine when I was young. It was a cowgirl doll with a short pixie hair-cut. For years I’d carried that doll with me everywhere I went.

I think I got her for Christmas when I was a first-grader and we were living in Columbus, Georgia. I have this photograph of me holding my doll at Granny Leona’s home in Church Hill, TN.

I have the same haircut as the doll. This photo was taken during our last visit to Granny’s before Daddy took us all to Hawaii, where he was serving with the 25th Infantry Division.

I kept that doll with me through the three years we were in Hawaii and she traveled back to Tennessee with me. She was sitting on my bed when we got word of Daddy’s death. And she traveled with me when Mama up and moved us back to Georgia. Everywhere I went that doll went with me.

Until my sixth-grade year when I finally gave her up. I still remember the day I handed her over to my beloved Thelma as a gift. It was Thelma’s last day with us and I wanted to give her something. Thelma had cared for us in the aftermath of Daddy’s death. She was the one who taught me how to iron a crease in a pair of slacks, how to skillet fry chicken, how to make a hospital corner, a skill that came in handy these past few months caring for Mama.

Thelma, in her wisdom, told me to keep the doll. She knew I’d have use for the doll again one day. Besides, she told me, she only had one child, a boy, what would she do with a cowgirl doll?

But I had no other gift to give Thelma so I gave her the most precious thing I owned. That’s how much Thelma meant to me. She hugged me and loved on me as she had done from day one, and accepted my gift with the love it was offered.

I have thought about that doll from time to time, wished I’d still had her, just for nostalgia sakes. Or to pass along to my own granddaughter, one day, should God ever see fit to bless me with one.

But it was while answering a question about my latest book, the novel coming up, that something came to me that I had never thought about in all these years.

Why I had a cowgirl doll to begin with.

I mean, I’m hardly the cowgirl type. I’m much more the Madame Alexander type.

Perhaps, I thought, the reason Mama had given me a cowgirl doll was because I used to watch Roy Rogers with Brother John every Saturday morning.

Could the cowgirl doll be a replica of Dale Evans, Roy’s wife and TV partner?

So I did something it had never occurred to me to do before — I googled Dale Evans Doll.

And guess what came up?

My doll!

I felt like I’d run into an old friend after a long absence.

She is, in fact, Gail of the Golden West.

Which is really poetic if you consider that I ended up out west and still have friends who refer to me as Sister Goldenhair.

It’s a simple, maybe even a silly thing, really, but it was such a delight to know more about the history of the doll that meant so much to me for so long.

What about you? What was your go-to for companionship when you were a child?

Have you had any ah-ha moments lately?

Uncategorized

companionship

Dale Evans

Gail of the Golden West

Previous Post

January 13, 2013

Surprising Pick

Next Post

January 15, 2013 Confessionals: Foster & Armstrong

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category child abuse Military ministry pop culture prayer Sports Uncategorized Veterans Day

Select a Month July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz