A TRIBUTE TO MY MOTHER

A TRIBUTE TO MY MOTHER

Today, had God chosen, my Mother would be 96 years old.  God chose to call her home November 29, 1993.  She was a gentle, strong, God-fearing, spiritual woman whom I would have wanted the entire world to meet and get to know.  She was from a tiny town in Georgia, but she had a heart as big as Texas, and shared it often with those she met during her life time.  Mother never met a stranger that she did not love instantly.  She never met anyone that needed help that she was not there to help in any way that she could.  She smiled often.  She played with the “young” people a lot.  Loved unconditionally, and forgave others often.

My Mother was not a saint, but she was as close to being a saint as anyone I have ever known.  Today, as I sit here thinking about this wonderful loving woman, I called my Mother, I am NOT IN TEARS!  I am not in pain.  I am not avoiding the thoughts of her today.  I am actually finding happiness in remembering her after almost twenty (20) years.  The ache and pain and suffering from missing her for so many years has finally gone away!  Today, I am remembering her beauty, her self-determination, her love for education, her God-fearing life, her joy for life and her zest for living, and yes her beautiful smile that could light up a room.  I am remembering her little wink that she would give me when she had a secret or something special to tell me.  I am remembering her pecan and sweat potato pies, and how she could read her Bible after 40 years and discover something new to mark up in it.

My Mother was an amazing woman who could take someone else’s hand-me-downs and make me a new dress that looked like it came from Paris or she could take  pot full of beans and a “hoecake” and make me feel like I was dining at one of the world’s ten best restaurants.  My Mother could pray, and you knew God heard her, and sure enough you always felt better.  What a woman.  Humble, hard-working, and yet concerned that she would be a burden to someone.  God thank you so very much for making her, Florence H. B. Williams, a little old lady from Georgia, MY MOTHER, and making her MY BEST FRIEND!

Mother you made every day with you special, even those days when I was self-determined to self-destruct.  So, my Mother, my Best Friend, on this 1st day of June, I celebrate your life.  I honor your memory.  I give thanks to God for the 48 years that you spent with me on this earth, and I pray that even if I miss out on God’s promised rewards that you be at the head of the line receiving them.  Mother, you earned the best that heaven can offer!  HAPPY 96th BIRTHDAY.  I will forever love you, your daughter, Malinda.