We've just returned from a trip to B.C. We had been sceduled to go for a wedding, but went early for a funeral- Mal's Mother. I've decided I'll have to blog the experiences in increments because they were so different and so intense. In just under 2 weeks we had the funeral, the wedding, the good news of Darrell and Jess's referral of Mary and Martha, sad news, bad roads, good roads, changed locations 6 times, saw old friends, and just had a host of varied experiences and emotions. I'll start with a tribute to Mal's Mom.
She married at 18, had her first baby within a year, and went on to have 17 in about 23 years. (No twins!) She had grown up as a younger child in her family and had not felt wanted, so she determined all of her children would feel loved. At the time, she never knew what a challenge would lie ahead! However, at her funeral there was a lot of joking by different siblings about how they knew that they were really Mom's favorite. It appears Mom succeeded in making each of her children feel wanted.
The sharing at the funeral home on the night before the funeral was awesome. There were many stories - as many stories as there were children! One common memory was the great bread mom baked - every day! They all loved to eat a piece of the dough. When they came to Mom asking for a bite she had them quote a Scripture verse before they got their bite.
One of Mal's memories was when he was a teenager and they lived in a large old house with trampled lawns. Mal complained to his mom about the sad state of their lawn and she replied, "We're raising kids, not grass!"
One of my favorite memories of Mom was in her later years in Saskatoon when she needed cataract surgery. Her eye became infected and she had to be hospitalized for several days. When I'd go to visit her it wasn't unusual for there to be a nurse or two in her room chatting with her. When I went to pick her up to take her home and she was saying good-bye to the nurses she said, "Thank you, I had a lovely time!" She had a continually positive attitude in often very trying circumstances.
The funeral service was awesome. Brother-in-law Ken led the music and spoke. Nine siblings gave a eulogy. Mal led the service. The singing raised the roof, the eulogies were all great, and the message was passionate and meaningful. Many said afterwards it was the best service they'd attended. Mom was well-loved in the nursing home and 8 or 10 of the residents attended plus some care aids.
She was a woman who lived in poverty with endless work, almost no support, and marital stress. She did little in her life other than raise children. But she managed to love them, feed and clothe them with next to nothing, and still be able to smile and care for them.
It was evident that she was well-loved.
I couldn't help but think of the verse, "The meek will inherit the earth."
I was doing some research for a Church History Course we will be teaching when I came across the story of Mary Slessor (1848-1915). Fascinating story! But what really caught my attention was her involvement in saving the lives of twins.
Apart from her ministry with children, she ws an incredible missionary who had amazing adventures and showed great courage in many terrifying situations. She was known both as the White Ma of Africa and as the White Queen of Calabar. She was asked to sit on the local court and was buried in Nigeria with a full state funeral.
