A Living Testimony - A Loving Tribute To My Mother

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With the celebration of Mother's Day being next Sunday, 10 May 2009, I wanted to share some of personal memories and reflections of my dear beloved mother, Frances Mae Harmon Brown (24 September 1937 - 12 June 1997), who was indeed the best and most positive influence for good in my life. She was my first and best school teacher in the school of life. I love her and miss her very much. She passed away after a battle with breast cancer while I was still on active duty in the United States Navy serving in the far away country of Iceland. She was not only my mother, but a very dear and true friend. What follows is the tribute that I wrote to her memory several years ago.
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Webster's dictionary defines the word witness as a person who has observed a certain event; a person who testifies to this observation. The word testimony is defined as evidence; an oral or written statement made under oath. Throughout her humble life my mother witnessed many events and was a living testimony of the fact that God is still God in spite of how a situation may appear. Even during her illness her testimony remained true and her daily prayer was "Jesus, comfort my heart's desire to work and speak and think for thee, that others may see Christ in me". When so many others may have just given up, my mother held on to the blessed promises of God's infallible Word realizing the fact that "God is good all the time, and all the time God is good".

There are so many people under the misconception that in order to be a testimony for the Lord Jesus Christ you have to brow beat people with the Scriptures. They see every situation in life as an opportunity to impress people with their limited knowledge of the Scriptures by quoting partial Scriptures (often out of context) or by preaching a sermon that only falls on deaf ears because the person or persons being preached to realizes that the messenger does not live up to the words of his or her own message. The truth of the matter is, the Lord is not looking for people who only have lip service to offer, but rather He is looking for people who are genuine. The Lord is looking for people whose hearts are pure and who love Him with all of their heart, with all of their soul, with all of their strength, and with their entire mind.

My mother's heart desire was to be the person that God would have her to be. She did not have to quote Scriptures or preach sermons to people whose paths she crossed, but she allowed the life that she lived to be a "living testimony." She fully understood the true meaning behind the Scriptures found in Matthew 5:14-16: "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven". Because of the life that she lived and the example that she strived to set, my mother gained the unmerited favor and respect of those that she met along life's way. In fact, she was so much admired and respected by her co-workers that they would lovingly refer to her as "Mom" whenever they would see her.

The life that she lived was definitely a reflection of the type of person that she was. No matter where she would be, she never changed. She did not practice one type of behavior in public and another type of behavior in private. One thing that I can definitely say about her is that she was consistent. Through the example of her remarkable life, I have come to understand what it is to be a "living testimony". I thank God for blessing me with this one so dear and I sincerely realize that in all the world there will never be another exactly like my mother. She was not only my mother but a very daer and true friend. I love her and I miss her very much. Her testimony lives on.

M-O-T-H-E-R

"M" is for the million things she gave me,
"O" means only that she's growing old,
"T" is for the tears she shed to save me,
"H" is for her heart of purest gold;
"E" is for her eyes, with love-light shining,
"R" means right, and right she'll always be,
Put them all together, they spell "MOTHER,"
A word that means the world to me.
--Howard Johnson (c. 1915)

I do not mean to come across as being callous, cruel, or mean-spirited, but the older I get, the more discouraged and dishearten I become as I watch some of our young people - the future of our world, place themselves in a proverbial box called defeatism. Unquestionably, some of us have grown up in unfavorable conditions and in an unkind society that constantly reminds us, and in some cases has thoroughly convinced us, that our father never amounted to much, and our mother has never amounted to much, and so, as the proverbial apple never seems to fall far from the tree, we ourselves can expect to never amount to much either. The tragedy of it all is that society is not alone in painting this picture of hopelessness and despair, but that same picture hangs on the walls in our homes, as well as, in the classrooms of our schools.

I wish to send a very clear, precise, and concise message to our youth of today: the time has come for you to stop wallowing in the mud of hopelessness and slowly drowning yourselves in the sea called despair. Now is the time to break free from that proverbial box that you have found yourselves in, and from the strangling chords of the voices of naysayers who preach negativism and defeatism. Rise above your current station in life. You can if you believe that you can!

Maybe it is true that your father and mother have never done anything to make an honorable name for themselves, or have ever tried to get out of their current situations and better themselves. Maybe it is true that you were born in unfavorable and adverse conditions. Maybe it is true that all of your young life people have done nothing but knock you down and kick you while you were down. However, it does not have to stay that way. Though the night may seem dark and dreary, nighttime only last for a season and then the morning comes. And with the dawning of the morning comes a light of hope that shines bright as the noon day sun.

Now is the time for you to start realizing that you are not your father and you are not your mother. God Almighty has made each of us uniquely YOU. He has meted to you and me a measure of faith, hope, courage, talents, and abilities. It is time for you to put behind you those things that once were, and press forward to obtain those things that can, and (with faith, hope, patience, determination, and endurance) will be. Stop listening to the perpetual lies of those who do not have your best interest at heart, and start believing in yourself. You can do whatever it is you have a mind to do, and you can become whatever it is that you have a desire to become in life, but YOU have to believe that you can do it. If you cannot believe in yourselves, how can you honestly expect anyone else to?

Do not become discouraged if at first you do not succeed at doing something, but try and try again knowing that the road to success is often filled with potholes called failure. Many a success in life has been wrought through heartache and failure, so don't let that stop you. Even along the road of success will be hurdles and discouragement which you will have to get over, but don't let that stop you either. Continue to run your race with your head held high and a song of hope and gladness in your heart. You may not be the first to cross the finishing line, but then the winner of a race is not always necessarily the swiftest runner in the race, but he who runs his race well by remaining focused, staying his course, and enduring to the end.

There will be times along the way when you may become weary. Stop and rest for a little while if you must, but don't give up, give in, or quit. Remain focused on your goals and objectives. The finishing line is just in sight. You can make it. Yes you can! May God give you the hope, courage, faith, and determination to endure to the end. God bless you all!

Lessons in the Key of Life

Lessons that I have learned as I journey through life.