Traveling Shoes

Under a cloudless robin blue sky, life began for an amazing baby girl . She was named Ruby Lea and had thick curly ebony hair with smiling copper eyes. She was beautiful with a small flat nose and long perfect fingers and toes. Her slender fingers spoke by dancing in the air relating stories.

A golden sun shined when that sweet young girl became a woman ripe. She was vibrant and bubbly.The future held hope; bold and bright. Her ancestors had been slaves and life was hard but she viewed it as a free woman. Her parents taught her to love others, to honor herself, work hard, learn and teach others. They told her that was the key to life, education and faith. Her strong faith would bless those she loved.

It was a beautiful evening with a sunset that whispered magic. She met a fine looking, muscle rippling, and hard working man called Elijah Joseph Wood.
His looks and touch made her heart flutter and senses stir. His voice was like poetry and he was smart.
"You are a genuine jewel of beauty just like your name."

Even more importantly, he shared her goals in life like education and faith. They both desired children to learn writing, reading, history, math and arts. Those children needed skills, values and faith.

They "jumped the broom" to honor their ancestors. Then to seal their vows, they married in a Baptist ceremony.

Their home was built sturdy by neighbors and family. The sun, rain, and hard work grew the garden. God blessed and guided their life. Raindrops of delight filled Ruby's eyes, happiness overflowed and spread.

Children came. Sadly the first two were stillborn. Ruby decided to learn about being a midwife. It came natural to her to make the way smooth for frightened young girls. She made extra money delivering babies. The local doctor, James Wills, taught her how to turn babies, make incisions to open the cervix for larger babies. Dr. Willis had delivered in hospitals but children were born with the help of midwives in homes.
Ruby knew weeds and plants from her Grandmother for midwifery and to help other illnesses.

The next ten years were fertile with vegetable crops to sell and babies of their own and others to birth. There were three daughters and two boys; Raine, Selena, Faith, Job and Joseph. Then Ruby almost lost Joseph and she came close to meeting the Lord herself.

Raine had been helping her mother midwife. Dr. Willis had even taught Ruby to make an abdominal incision into the skin, fat, muscle, and then tie off blood vessels. She would open the uterus and remove the baby. She sutured up the uterus and then tied off everything. Dr. Willis had done this five times in a hospital and two of the women lived.

Ruby was his third patient to live with help from her husband and Raine. This Cesarean Section was done at home. There was so much blood and Dr. Willis had to remove the uterus due to the bleeding. It took Ruby six months to heal. Joseph was small but fine, nursing from another new Mom.

Ruby's joy was watching her children grow. She could see herself in their eyes; applaud their dreams with sweet surprise. She was delighted to bring five of her own grandchildren into the world.

Her face had lines, which spoke of the roads taken in her life. Each brought her closer to the Lord. Dying meant rest and a place next to her people.

Memories of people loved, and lost went by so fast. She knew more mysteries would be revealed when God took her home.

The day came when she lost her sweet love, Elijah. He died painlessly at eighty in their bed. She knew Saint Peter let him in Heaven's door.

The sand was almost gone. Her bed was surrounded with a huge family to carry on.
She whispered, "I'm ready to lay down my weary load. I'm reaching for God's hand and have my traveling shoes on".
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By Kathie Stehr



The preceding story is fiction.


Historical facts:
The first successful Caesarean section to be performed in America took place in what was formerly Mason County Virginia (now Mason County West Virginia) in 1794. The procedure was performed by Dr. Jesse Bennett on his wife Elizabeth.

In 1812, John Collins Warren, M.D., who later became president of the Medical Society (1832), established The New England Journal of Medicine and Surgery and the Collateral Branches of Science.