Let me start this month of sharing with a writing by my Mother. Mom was the guest speaker at the Mother / Daughter Banquet at the church in 2004. This is a transcription of her devotion that night. It is such a precious memory of her Mother and Grandmother, and I share it with love.
Chris
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Grandmother Beatrice Coldiron Dorton
Molly Elizabeth Dorton Grubb
Shared by Audella Grubb Evans, Mother-Daughter Banquet, 2004:
I would like to talk about 2 Fantastic Moms.
First, my biological Mom, Mollie Elizabeth Dorton Grubb. Mom was a wonderful, caring person. She was always there for you or anyone that needed her. When I was quite young, we lived in a small area - a Coal Community. Everyone knew everyone. She was the "visiting nurse" - whenever anyone was ill or having a baby they would send for Mom - 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning, it didn't matter, whether it was day or night! Of course, it was much safer then, you could do that without fear. My Mom certainly wasn't trained in the medical field, so this had to be a gift from God. And she loved doing it.
Mom was a good listener and a conversationalist. She could tell stories, things that actually happened, and act it out at the same time! I think she would have made a good actress! It was a ONE PERSON SHOW!
She accepted the Lord when she was in her 60's. She would say she was afraid she could not live the life as a Christian person. Her comment was, "I am not going to be a hypocrite". She could tell you how a professing Christian should live! We know we cannot live the Christian life without Christ, and we live it one day at a time.
Mom's word was the law. You did what she said and didn't ask questions, like "Why?"
I'm grateful for her strengths and moral values she installed in me. She gave me direction and kept me on the straight and narrow path. Her home and family was the most important things in her life. I thank God for her. She was really a great Humanitarian in her day. A Fantastic Mom. She died July 9, 1992 - I miss her very much. Our phone calls, our visits. I could tell her what was on my heart and she would never betray my trust.
Secondly, my Spiritual Mom - who was my Grandmother, Beatrice Coldiron Dorton. She was saved at the young age of 13 and received the Holy Ghost when very few in that area knew what it was. She bore a lot of persecution, but it only made her stronger in her faith. She loved reading her Bible - was a prayer warrior. She was obedient to God's voice. She would go to homes when God directed and pray for that person or family. And they recovered from their illness! I saw God use her in a mighty way.
Her conversation was always about the Bible, not shopping or working. Although she kept a nice home and made her clothes, was a great cook, and loved for the Pastor or Evangelist and their families to visit her and she always served them a big dinner - everything made from scratch, too!
Grandmother Dorton worked in her garden (not a flower garden, maybe a few flowers, but it was a vegetable garden). She owned this big jersey cow and always had fresh butter and milk. A very busy woman - they had no car for transportation, so she would walk for miles to church and still had time to read, pray, and preach a lot of times. And do visitation!
I never heard her say she was sick or frustrated about anything. She seemed so happy all the time. She lived every day with an unsaved husband, unsaved daughters, and unsaved grandchildren, but she would always say they would be saved. Even though her family members were unsaved during most of her lifetime, they knew when things happened they could call and she would go to prayer and intercede to God to do a work. She bridged the gap. And one by one, her family members have come to know the Lord!
Everyone in the surrounding area and churches all knew Sister Dorton! Grandmother's Christian walk set a wonderful example for me to live by - her talk, her walk, her life in everyday circumstances. Was she a legalist? NO!!! She wanted to please God, and not bring a reproach on His name. I would say that she was a Tradition, a Landmark, a Legacy for all of her family and those that knew her.
My prayer is that I can do the same before departing this life.
Grandmother Dorton died June 20, 1974. I would love to be a able to just sit down and talk to her about the Bible, and to again hear her sing the songs of faith. I miss her, too, but I will never forget the life lessons she taught me thru her day to day walk.
I have been blessed with such a rich heritage! As a Mom, I would say that there is nothing more important than caring and being there for those you love.
My prayer is this:
God, be in my head, and in my understanding.
God, be in my eyes, and in my looking.
God, be in my heart, and in my thinking.
God, be at my end, and in my departing.
Thank you for letting me share my 2 Fantastic Moms with you!
