Day 32 Get A Testimony

“Jesus did it all. All to Thee I owe. Sin has lost its crimson stain. Jesus washed it all away.” These are some of the words to a song that my mother used to sing. We were so poor. It was such a struggle to raise seven children without much help from a drinking husband. I am the sixth of the seven, so in some ways I was probably shielded from some of the most difficult days she and the older children had to experience.
My mother was one of five children. She grew up in Eldorado, Arkansas. She had two other sisters and two brothers. They are all deceased now, but my mother was the only one who had children. She had seven children. When she had two small children, she and my father moved to Gary, IN. I don’t know but I believe she and my Aunt Velma were the only one that ever married.

One thing my mother tried so hard to teach us was to love each other. She wanted us to be close to each other. One reason for this is, I believe, she was so far from her family. She probably experienced so much disappointment and heartache, that she knew having that family love and support would and could sustain us.

My mom passed when I was nineteen years old. I can’t even begin to articulate the pain, loneliness, and hurt each one of us experienced. We each suffered tremendously together and apart. Sometime after her triumphant entry into Heaven our family became scattered and were pulled more and more apart. One thing I got from my mom, besides her winning personality (chuckle, chuckle), was a huge desire in my heart that our family would remain close. I wanted all of us to be saved, filled with the Holy Spirit of God, saved, and serving Him individually and collectively.

As we began circling, this desire for greater and more loving family contact and communication was near the top of my list. The Sunday before Labor Day God lead me to visit Gary. While there I learned two of my sisters had been baptized. Major steps in reconciliation. Yesterday on another visit to Gary I brought my brother and sister-in-law with me. I was able to witness God in action. This visit God put two generations of the family together in one place. There was peace and harmony and the joy of the Lord was there. There was genuine love shared. One sister actually made us salads, shared dessert, and one of my favorite kinds of candy. Previous to this I can never remember my sister ever preparing any food to share with me.

God IS ordering our steps. This is my testimony, and I am putting my name on it.