When I saw the familiar 5X7 card and the single-spaced typed text, I thought immediately of Dad.
It was this format, using an aged manual typewriter, that was used by Dad to prepare sermons during the years he served as a fill-in pastor. I have a short stack of some of those sermons tucked away safely.
In this case, however, there was only a single card, printed front and back. Further investigation yielded a precious surprise.
These were words written by my mother.
Folded along with the 5X7 card were: a pamphlet from International Toastmistresses, three 3X5 cards with handwritten text, and five 5X7 pieces of paper with marks and comments by judges.
My "shy" mother had prepared and presented a speech at a Toastmistresses event!
Mom loved Jesus, and raised each of us six kids to know Him as our Savior. There were countless words expressed in terms of her faith, but I had never seen a "testimony" from her in writing. It was Dad we were accustomed to seeing "up front" to church, but Mom was without a doubt "front and center" in our home.
Among several "gems" in this speech titled "The Power of Faith" was the following:
"Many times we become afraid because God does not show us the
future and our lack of faith keeps us from going on confidently. If we would
just stop for a moment to realize that if we would go hour by hour, day by day,
in faith as God has told us to, we would have reached our goal without all the
worry and doubts. We would be practicing a living faith."
She continued: "We have to practice our faith rather than just tell people
about it. It should bear fruits such as understanding, patience and kind deeds.
This is not always an easy thing to do to all people, but it does show
Christian love."
These were more than words to my Mom, as anyone who knew her could attest. I believe she was in her Thirties when she wrote this speech. She experienced many trials, many tragedies in her life of eighty-plus years, but there was always an underlying faith -- trust and hope -- that was demonstrated in her "everyday life."
I am grateful to have been raised by a "stay at home mom" who invested so dramatically in my life and those of my sisters and brother. I am grateful for this glimpse into her heart as a young mother eager to share her faith with an audience of strangers.
(Note: My mother stayed home by choice while she had children at home, but her life "pre-children" included civilian work for the Navy during World War II. She also was involved in "sales" including Avon products. And when circumstances called for it when she was in her Fifties, she passed the exam to become a licensed real estate agent to work alongside Dad. All along, she was faithful and true, moving in His strength when hers was not enough.)
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9
"For whatever is born of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our faith." 1 John 5:4
