Whistling Past the Graveyard

by Susan Crandall

brush that had made a tunnel of the road had

It was plain Eula had more faith in the Lord than I did. Which was a wonder; from what I’d seen, she had plenty of reason not to.

“My daddy says that when you do somethin’ to distract you from your worstest fears, it’s like whistlin’ past the graveyard. You know, making a racket to keep the scaredness and the ghosts away. He says that’s how we get by sometimes. But it’s not weak, like hidin’ . . . it’s strong. It means you’re able to go on.”

“Well, now, we can all do better. That’s why we get up every day, to try and do better with the good Lord’s help.”

“Some of the best things in life come when you’re not planning on them. It’s important to see them for the gift they are.”

“God’s plan ain’t a free pass. Uh-uh. He give us moments to make choices, and we make them. We accountable for those choices. God’s job ain’t to make our lives easier, it’s to make us better souls by the lessons he give us.

But I wasn’t gonna be too scared to love the folks that took the time to love me back, and I sure wasn’t gonna chase them that don’t. And I was gonna spend the rest of my life asking questions and looking behind everything that happened, so I could find the gifts I got tucked inside me.