Have a little faith…

Sometimes, when someone does something good for you-

Thank you just isn’t enough. 

This is one of those times.

A few years ago, Jeff and I decided it was time to downsize.  We sold our home and began to build a little cottage in the woods.

All was right in the world until it wasn’t. 

Our contractor disappeared along with our money.

We were devastated.

It wasn’t just our home.  It was our retirement.

And add to it the timing. 

It was March-July 2020.

Insert COVID.

It was hard to complain about our dream home when there were so many people facing much tougher times.

We moved 4 times in a year.

I didn’t know if we were ever going to have a home or feel at home again.

You began to question yourself, and honestly, we got bitter.

I haven’t talked much about that time because it was so painful.

There were so many unknowns.

With the help of friends, we bought my Dad’s old house at a foreclosure auction after he passed away. 

I knew it well enough that I wasn’t as scared to buy it like others with unknown risks.

But it still needed a lot of work. 

And I mean a LOT.

I have to admit that I am very talented at staging, bright ideas and demolition.

Putting it back together, though –

Definitely not my strength.

But thankfully, Ricky Ledbetter came into our lives.

Ricky had saved me previously when I decided it was a good time to install a clawfoot tub during the week of the Woodstock Music Festival.

Jeff hates how I take advantage of his distraction to start a major home repair.

But Ricky would laugh and put it back together.

Daddy’s house, however, needed all kinds of repairs.

And Ricky singlehandedly fixed them all.

Plumbing, electrical, pressure washing, etc. 

You name it, the list is endless.

He saved us money every chance he could.

I have said that I would go through it all again just for having Ricky in my life.

When we would take a break and sit around the table, I remember thinking I wish my Daddy could have known Ricky.  My Daddy would have liked him.

Daddy would have said Ricky was “good people.”  And in John L. Acker’s world, that was the highest of compliments.

And he would have been right.

I needed to be around “good people” again. 

So, looking back now, it was a very special time.

Because when Ricky came, you also got his friends.  It was so nice to have them stop by and check out everything because people don’t visit each other like they used to.

My granddaughter Hadley began the day saying, “Good morning Ricky”.

He was there from her being a baby to talking and learning her family.

I would say, “I am your grandmother.  I am your Daddy’s mother.”

We laughed so hard when she asked, “How we kin to Ricky?”

I remember telling her that I guess you could say he is your honorary Grandpaw.  Because he was.

He put up swings at more than one house and always made sure they had a safe place to play.

He built steps, replaced windows, whatever it took.  He didn’t stop until we were in our home.

But he wasn’t just handy, he was mischievous.

I have had to ask him to please get off of the roof.  He could make you nervous.

We built fires that were probably illegal.

We would laugh when he would push the brush up with the equipment into a huge pile.

I would say, “Ricky, I don’t think we  should burn this.”

And he would say, “Naw, it’ll be fine.” And then he would set it on fire. 

I just knew we would be calling the fire department.

I laughed and sent pictures to my sisters and close friends.  I didn’t post it on Facebook, because I didn’t want to incriminate myself.

When the repairs were made, he helped me find furniture.  We have picked up a bedroom suit off of the side of the road. 

He would call and say, “I know you are going to want this.”  And he was right.

Not only do I now have a beautiful home thanks to him, my daughter Reagen does too.  He helped us fix up the property next door.

A while back, I called him to check on something and he told me that he just didn’t feel good.

That had me worried.

He lost weight and went to the doctor. 

He recently went to the doctor and didn’t receive good news.

He and Mrs. Sheila, his wife, have been in my heart and prayers.

I have sat here feeling heloless thinking. “How do you thank someone for making your life better?”

I honestly don’t know.

I just want the world to know how much better it is to have Ricky Ledbetter in it.

I wish everyone had a Ricky.

Looking back I realize now that he fixed so much more than my house. 

He fixed ME.

He restored my faith in people again because I really had lost it.

I don’t know what the future holds.

But I do know this-

My buddy Ricky has been and continues to be one of the greatest blessings in my life.

I hope and pray that he has a lot of life left for his family.

I also hope he knows how much I and my family love him and are thankful for him and Mrs. Sheila.

And I know it’s not just me.

Many days, he would get to my house later than I thought he was coming.  When he got there, he would let me know that he had stopped by and fixed something for someone else.

Everyone knows how hard it is to find a good handyman.

And in spite of myself, I found a great one.

He never complained when anyone else would have wanted to choke me.  I would change my mind on a light he had put up and he would change it out or move it to the left.

We would joke and say Ricky did all of Jeff’s “honey do’s”. 

(And to be honest, he did more than a few of Jeff’s “Cheryl don’t do this”.)

And me and Ricky did it anyway.

I am sitting here now in my home that I absolutely love thanks to him.

I said just yesterday that compared to where I started out in life and where I am now-I am so blessed.

And I am so wealthy when it comes to friends because Ricky has been a treasure.

There is a Bible story and the line I remember is, “O ye of little faith…”

That is where I was in life.

I had just a little.

Now I have a lot, thankfully.

I hope I can share a little faith with you today, and you will remember my friend Ricky in your prayers.

I owe him a lot. 

And prayers are the best thing I know to give him.

Thank you Ricky and Mrs. Sheila.

We love you,

Cheryl, Jeff and family