Tears were rolling down my cheeks as I was driving away from my mother’s house on a hot, summer day. My heart was deeply touched when I experienced a new realization about my mother’s life. As I pondered all I had witnessed around her home, I was thinking, “My mother lives in the ghetto. “The difference between my mother and others that live in the ghetto, is that she lived there by choice. She had previously lived in a very classy home in a prestigious community. Then one day in 2001, she and her husband heard the voice of the Lord nudging them to move to a small town in West Georgia to plant a mission church. They sold their home, left upper middle-class suburbia, and moved to a tiny house in a mill village that was built in 1930.
I remember clearly the first time I saw the neighborhood in Hogansville, Georgia. I had never seen anything quite like it, and neither had some of my other family members. My brother’s humor lightened our shocked state the first time we visited the new place that my mom called “home.”
My brother said, “This reminds me of Archie Bunker’s neighborhood.” We had a good laugh, but the truth of the matter is Archie Bunker’s neighborhood (in the 1970’s sitcom) was nicer.
My daughter inquired, “Why are there dishwashers and furniture in some of the yards of this neighborhood?”
As we were visiting her new home and town, she cautioned me about drug dealers and told me which streets to avoid. Even with the drastic differences from my mom’s previous neighborhood, our family quickly fell in love with Hogansville. However, we asked a few questions as we were getting acquainted with her new community.
As inquisitive as we were about her neighborhood, I knew in my heart, this was where God had called my mother to live. Seeing the elegantly dressed, middle-class woman in an impoverished area may have seemed odd to some people. Thankfully for me, as her daughter, I could see that this town fit perfectly with her Christ-like heart.
Mama had found her mission field right here in America, in a community filled with people in great need of God’s grace and love. This is what defined my mother. Her life was defined by her gift for sharing Christ’s mercy with the poor in spirit and brokenhearted.
I could literally write enough stories about my mom to fill a book with many examples of how I’ve seen Christ’s light shine through her, and there is one story that has impacted my life the most.
Shortly after my thirteenth birthday in 1978, my father told me that he would be divorcing my mother, and he was leaving. I have the memory etched in my mind of my mother sitting at the table weeping as she read her Bible. She had just heard my father’s hurtful words. Her college sweetheart, whom she was married to for seventeen years, was piercing her heart.
Shortly after the divorce, my father remarried another woman. My heart was crushed, so I can only imagine the depth of pain my mother was experiencing. Yet in the midst of her grieving, she continued to exemplify the amazing grace of Christ.
My mother never spoke any unkind words about my father, and she lived out what it means to forgive the way our HEAVENLY FATHER forgives. Her loving words revealed her deep love for Christ. She told me that we needed to pray for my father—to pray especially for my dad to surrender his life to Christ. She continually showed love and kindness to my dad and his new wife.
Because of my mom’s tremendous faith, the Lord honored her by bringing her a strong, Christian man. Mama married, Ron, several years after my father remarried. Mama’s life was a beautiful picture of how the Lord can take a devastating situation and use it for good (Romans 8:28).
Watching my mother’s way of life built tremendous faith in my teenage heart as I witnessed her faithfulness. Amazingly, I saw a miracle come forth because of my mom’s prayers. A little over four years later, my father radically surrendered his heart to Christ. At seventeen years old, it was a blessing for me to have spiritual eyes to see that the merciful love of my mother had drawn my father to the Lord.
Years later, while my mother was recovering from cancer in 1995, my father shared with me the true impact my mother’s love, graciousness, and forgiveness had made on his life. What I had discerned in my spirit, my father’s words confirmed. While sitting in my family room, my dad began pouring his heart out, telling me that the most significant factor leading him to a fulfilled life in Christ was experiencing the unconditional, Christ-like love of my mother. It was beautiful hearing with my ears what I had known in my heart for many years.
Most important of all, my mother’s life was a true example of Christ’s mercy, grace, and kindness in a dark world. The Lord had a good plan when He placed her in a neighborhood with homeless people, drug dealers, and people living in poverty. Those people are the ones who need to see grace the most.
My mother’s life exuded Christ’s grace so beautifully that I wrote a poem about her, and I gave it a fitting title: “Her Name Should Be Grace.” When I presented the poem to my mom on Mother’s Day, she was surprised and softly said, “My name means GRACE.”
I had written the poem without having any knowledge that her name literally means grace. With amazement, I rejoiced when I learned the Hebrew meaning of her name. In a powerful way, God confirmed a message through the poem I wrote for her; He knew before my mom was even born that her life would be filled with His amazing grace.
Ten days ago, HEAVEN came down and touched our family powerfully with His glory as Mama left this world to go to her eternal home. It was an amazing gift to be with her when she entered her heavenly home. God answered our prayers by helping Mama pass away peacefully in a gentle way. I let her go with my heart enveloped in an indescribable peace. With His tender love, Jesus held my heart in His hands while He held Mama in His arms simultaneously. My heart is filled with gratitude for the millions of memories and countless hours spent with her. I’m especially grateful for the abundance of time spent with her in recent months. During her final months, it’s been a great honor to help bring her comfort and encouragement as she was preparing to meet Jesus face to face.
Mama, I will continually praise Jesus for your legacy of faith, prayer, and love. And I will continue to dance, sing, laugh, and live fully alive in all circumstances just as you taught me to do. Thank you for being a living example of Christ’s love and grace. I know you received an abundance of crowns in HEAVEN. You will remain deeply embedded in my heart forever, and your impact will last for eternity.
HALLELUJAH.
“NANCY – ONE Of GRACE”
February 15, 1941—April 13, 2024
