"I remember the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother …" 2 Timothy 1:5
April 22 , 2019 - When I conducted a funeral last week in Center, Texas I visited with Brother Ed McCrae who works part time at Mangum & Sons Funeral Home. When the name "Sister Richards" came up, I asked if he remembered her. “I sure do," he smiled. "She brought me into this world." Then I recalled that Mother had once told me that my grandmother was a mid-wife and had brought many babies into the world.
Most folks called her Sister Richards but she was "Mama" to all of her grandchildren. She preached from the age of 18 until shortly before her death at 84. We lived a field and two barbed wire fences from her in East Center for several years and we visited Mama often. She would meet us at the door and immediately ask, "Are you children hungry?" She always had food on the table (covered by a table cloth) and some cold biscuits for Uncle Billy Gean to make his onion sandwich when he got home from school.
When Mama and I worked in her garden she'd whisper, "Thank you, Jesus… Thank y0u, Jesus...” Mother called one day to tell me that Mama was in the Center Hospital seriously ill. When I got to her room, she was in a coma and Mother was kneeling by her bed. I tearfully whispered, "Mama, thank you for helping us all these years." "I love you, Mama".
She crossed the Jordan a few days later. I don't know if she heard what I told her that day… but she knows now… and she knows I meant it…
… with all my heart.
