Even in Death

Happy Mother's Day!!! What a wonderful day to celebrate and honor our Mothers and those who have spent their lives mothering us. I love being a mother more than anything in this world. It is a calling I never thought I wanted on my life yet I cannot imagine being created for anything more fulfilling and rewarding. I spent the last couple of days hanging out with my mama having a blast at our farm. Sat in church with my baby girl and worshipped our Creator. Some of my kids are coming over later to just hang out and I am going to lay by the pool and enjoy my day. Hopefully get to call and visit with my sweet other mother, Lila and hope she is having a great day.
The pastor referenced this morning Hebrews 11:4 " And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead." The verse is specifically referencing Abels sacrifice to God but I started to think about those mothers in my family who have gone to be with the Lord and how their faith still speaks in my life even though they are dead.
I marvel often at how spoiled we mothers of today are. I know we work hard and have long days, but compared to our grandmothers who, lived through the depression and World War II raising children, raising crops that they were dependent on to feed them, and cooking three meals a day - because they couldn't pick something up in the drive-thru or pop something in the microwave.
My Granny, Ruth Squyres - The best friend I had growing up. I can see her tiny hands, arthritic and bent from raising 10 children, from cooking homemade biscuits every day of her married life, from working sunup to sundown, I can see those hands holding that big worn black Bible and reading it with such devotion and urgency to receive a word from her Lord. I can't breathe sometimes I miss her so much. I know my sweet mama does too. She is much like my Granny. I hope get a bit of it too.
My Grandmother, Ruby Murray - who raised three children on a farm and cooked (food that I miss so much) three meals a day, picked eggs from her chicken house. She too loved the Lord and her family very much.
My Nannie, Katie Raleigh - one of the sweetest, kindest, humblest souls I have ever known. Her daughter, my other mother Lila, is just like her. Precious, kind and generous. I know Lila is missing her mama today.
My Grammy, Ida Grace LeGendre, who taught me more about unconditional love than I could ever repay. She loved to tell others I was her oldest grandchild, but not her first grandchild. She worked hard to make things special for my sister's and I. I miss getting cards from her with EVERY word underlined. She liked to emphasize and didn't want us to misunderstand how strongly she meant every word!!

My sweet man's two grandmothers that I am so blessedto have had the pleasure to know:

Bernice Cheney - Every time I think of the phrase joy of the Lord, her face is what I see. Always, smiling, laughing and pure joy to be around. Her hands too were bent and crooked from years and years of hard work, yet she taught herself to play the piano and was the church pianist for many years. One of our most prized possessions is a recording on our piano (which records the keystrokes and the keys mash and play as though she were sitting there doing it) of her playing. She liked to say she was terrible, but to her family it is a joyful and blessed sound. And she was not terrible she was wonderful. Her Bible was given to our youngest daughter who brought it out this morning before church. I pray baby girl will treasure those notes in that beautiful handwriting and someday understand what a Godly woman Great-Mother was. We miss her so much.

Maude Fisher - the only one of all these women who didn't have crooked, bent hands. Not because she didn't work herself to death raising seven children during the depression, but because she took some kind of "green manna" she always told us about that prevented her from getting arthritis. What we wouldn't give to see her once again hold her hands up in the air, bending her fingers and saying, "How many 90 year old women can do this?"  She was beautiful. She talked about the Lord constantly. She wanted more than anything to see Him return in her lifetime. I loved her so much and revere my sweet mother-in-love for taking such tender care of her in her last years.

Wonderful women and godly mothers. I would be remiss if I did not honor them today, even in death, for their sacrifices and examples they set for all their families. I strive for that kind of legacy to leave my own children and grandchildren.

Thank you God for the women in my life. Mothers past and mothers present. May we all know that it is a gift from You and without You we will fail.

Happy Mother's Day.
Michelle