Yesterday I said goodbye to Beryl Frye Lacy.  You may have not known Beryl unless you knew one of her children; knew her as Nurse Lacy from Dr. Shield’s office; or, knew her through First Christian Church where she attended.  Beryl was a good wife to her husband Earl, a good mother to her three children, Gene, Sandee, and Greg, and a devoted, grandmother, aunt, and volunteer at the hospital.

When I spoke to Beryl, I called her Auntie.  She was mom’s sister-in-law and a big part of my life. She was something else; she was a source of confusion whenever I tried to make sense of my family lineage.

This isn’t a good picture of Dick and Don. They rarely look this good.

When I was a kid, the Lacy family reunions would include Don and Dick.  I was always perplexed when I tried to decipher how we were or were not related.

Beryl was my aunt and she was also an aunt to Don and Dick.  To muddy the waters a bit more, Don and Dick had an Uncle Wally.  Wally was neither a Lacy nor a Seymour, but he was my mom’s cousin and Beryl’s brother-in-law’s brother.

Since Beryl was a Frye and Mom was a Pugh/Lacy, the only other possible link was Mom and Wally were linked through Mom’s Pugh side; but, there were always too few Pughs to find clues to the riddle of Don and Dick.

While family history can be confusing, it can also be reassuring.  The Psalms remind us that just as “An earthly father expresses love for his children; it is no different with our heavenly Father who shows His love for those who revere Him (Psalm 103:13).”

And, after reading Paul’s letter to the Christians at Rome, I guess it’s possible we’re cousins together in Christ and joint-heirs with Him:  “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him (8:17).”

Bless you Auntie, I’ll see you again some day in Heaven, and then you can explain this riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.