Stories from the Heart

All is Well 

When my wife and I got married, we were cautioned about having children. Due to my wife’s failing kidneys, the doctors were cautious about her getting pregnant and advised against it. So, we did what any normal couple would do - we decided to have a baby! Apparently, the doctor was unaware that my wife and I were born into families that thrived on going against the grain. Her being a Skiles and coming from a large family where family reunions typically had over a hundred people show up, she wasn’t too concerned about it. I, too, came from a large family with eight aunts and uncles and so many cousins I couldn’t remember all of them.  

So, when my wife decided she wanted a baby, well, no doctor was going to convince her otherwise! I went along with it because that’s what husbands do, and I was a little scared of her. Well not her, mostly her dad. He was from Missouri and when we would wrestle, he would win at any cost. Whether that was pulling my hair or pulling my toes apart till I begged for mercy. He said he didn’t know martial arts; he knew Missouri. I wasn’t sure I understood what that was, but after a few go-rounds, I gave up any aspiration of beating him.  

My wife not only wanted a baby; she told God what she wanted the baby to look like. Blond and blue eyes. I was quick to point out to my lovely bride that in my family, all the kids were born with black hair and brown eyes. It was backed with science - my brother, my sister on my dad's side, my dad, my grandpa, and his dad. I think if I had been able to trace my family lineage any further, she would have seen that all the way back to Adam and Eve, black hair and brown eyes were in our DNA.  

My wife didn’t care about science; she had faith and told me and everyone else that we were having a baby girl, and she would be blond and blue-eyed. Nine months later, Jessica Morgan came into the world, all of six pounds, with blond hair and blue eyes. When I get to heaven, I’m going to have one word for God: “Really?” 

I think I got the last laugh, though. Everyone said she looked just like her daddy, even if she had blond hair and blue eyes. Fast forward 23 years, and I found myself walking my perfect baby girl down a grassy aisle and reluctantly giving her to her husband to be. What was a happy and sad day all rolled into one was soon turned into beautiful memories as time went on. Then over a year and a half later, my daughter gave birth to our first grandson, Kai. He couldn’t have been more perfect; after all, he had black hair and brown eyes! I was a proud pop pop (my special name for being a grandpa), and my wife was affectionately called mimi.  

Do you know what the best thing about being a grandparent is? When you're tired, you just send the grandkids home to mom and dad! Despite having some health challenges due to a very rare genetic disorder, Kai is the sweetest boy you’ll ever meet. He loves swimming, loves golf cart rides, especially when pop pop goes fast, and like any boy, he loves to be tickled and to wrestle with pop pop. Sometimes, unlike my father-in-law,  I let him win. Sometimes.  

Our joy was increased even more when on Christmas morning, 2022, Zaylie came into the world. She wasn’t supposed to be born on Christmas, but figuring God still owed me one from the whole blond, blue-eyed thing, I prayed Zaylie would be born early and on Christmas. Oh, and she has black hair and brown eyes! In your face, mimi! She loves playing with her kitchen set and making pizza for us, though it's not healthy to eat wooden blocks, and she loves golf cart rides, and throwing stones in the water down at Smallwood’s Store on Chokoloskee. Yes, grandbabies are the best.  

I have to admit it, life is good, and when the world gets crazy, I just look at those grandbabies and smile because for a few moments, all is well.  

Jesse currently pastors Chokoloskee Family Church on Chokoloskee Island along with his wife, Charity. Their growing congregation keeps them busy with local outreaches and community events. They have two grandkids who live in the area who also attend their church, along with their daughter and son-in-law.