Born: July 11,1922. Died September 25,1990.
Exodus 20:12, Honor thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee:
Probably the hardest thing to do as a human being is to accept the death of a loved one. From my earliest remembrances as a child until adulthood my dad has been an active part of my life. I seem to remember all the times, he corrected me for disobeying his rules. I can't rightly say the whippings, I got weren't deserved.( I was all boy, as the saying goes )Most of my thoughts about my Dad are very postive, but I remember a stage, I went through a time of rebellion in my life.
At age 19, I felt like my Dad was too strict and had lost touch with reality.I determined I would be my own man and live my own life, without the supervision of my Dad.It wasn't until I had to start paying my own way and being responsible for myself that I realized, how smart my Dad really was. The sad part was that I allowed some time to pass before, I ask my Dad to forgive me.He seemed to know that this was a part of growing up, it hurt him to have me leave home mad at him. My Dad's favorite verse of scripture in the Bible was when I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
During my teenage years, I was very child-like it wasn't until I became a man in Christ Jesus that I fully understood, what my Dad really meant.To have not had much formal education, he seem to know a lot. Why do I consider my Dad a great man, you may ask? It's not because, Dad left me a lot of material things in his passing, nor was it because he did any great feats for man kind. The thing, I admired most was that he taught me about the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. For as long as I can remember my Dad loved the Church of God.He was firm on the teaching of Bible Holiness, Sanctification and living a Holy Ghost filled life sold out to Jesus.
Dad went through a period in his own life, where he allow people to cause him to back slide on God. It seems that some of the hardest people to work with were put in leadership positions within the Church of God. Some well intending Elder or Deacon feeling that God has called them to keep the minister in line. My Dad spent several years out of Church, because people wanted to lead instead of being lead. God through his Holy Spirit brought my Dad back to Jesus Christ through the shed blood of Jesus. My Dad made mistakes even sinned, he was human just as was King David,(a man after God's own heart).The greatness, I speak of is from a son's view of a man, who raised 7 children.
I know the sacrifices that he made to provide for us, even the times, he did without himself. My Dad's example has meant a lot to me, he wasn't much on saying I love you, yet we all knew that he loved us. The message of love wasn't conveyed in just words but shown in actions.I can't remember the time in my life that I really needed him that he wasn't there. Dad stood a pillar of strenght to me, though the good times and through the bad times. I believe that Heaven is a more desirable, because Dad and Mom and other loved ones are there.
Born: July 10, 1924. Died: November 13,1992.
On November 13, 1992, Kate Adams Sanders went to be with the Lord Jesus. If there is one person that I'm proud of influencing my life that's my Mom. Kate had seven children, (raised one grand daughter) and had a profound effect on all of us.Mama was the kind of person that would take life's lemons and make lemonade from them. Mama had learned to pray and knew how to trust God, especially during hard times. I can't remember a time that Mom wasn't there for any of us, most of the time she was the first person there and always the last to leave. Truth is Mom was the binding force of the family, she got us together for suppers, reunions and funerals.
Next to the love of God, comes the love of a Mother. How many times did she prove that to me, I can't begin to number the times. Regardless of how wrong, I was Mama still loved me, she would not up hold my wrong doings. I remember when I was Pastoring a church in Union, South Carolina. My Mom was there for a special service, where a lady in the church began to boast about what a excellent fellow their Pastor was. Mama just smiled and looked at me saying, I knew him when he wasn't such a fine fellow.The truth is Mama knew me like nobody else, there were times that she cautioned me not to get above my raising. Mama brought us up to believe the commandments of the Bible and to be law abiding citizens. In the closing minutes of my Mama's life, I saw the person I hope, I would some day become.
One thing about Mama that I still do remember; My Mama loved flowers from January to December. To mama the simple things in life were such a delight; For her to see rose bushes blooming seem to make things just right.
For my Daddy the flowers did not do anything; But to my Mama's face a smile a flower would bring. It could be roses or a potted plant or such; Received as a gift to mama always meant so much.
She planted the flower in our yard every Spring; All day Mama planted and many songs, she would sing. She left us in November of 1992; The flowers people brought were so many, I only wish she knew.
Mother's day 1998, I stood by mama's grave with flowers to place; Tears filled my eyes as I remembered her face; I hope in heaven the beauty of flowers are all in the place; To match the mercy, love and God's amazing grace.
