Dear Unity Friends,
My mother was an incredible woman. Born in 1920 in the rural Appalachian mountains of north Georgia, she met the challenges of life with tremendous courage and quiet faith.
Mom was perhaps the most courageous person I have ever known. She gave birth to six babies. I, the youngest of her brood, was the only one born in a hospital. Her mother
delivered the first, my dad the fourth. The arrival of the country doctor and the new baby were not always in sync.
Mom single-handedly cared for and provided for three
children under the age of six while my father served in the Navy during World War II. There was no money available at that time. She had to grow everything they ate or they
would starve. Her home used wood for heat and had no indoor plumbing. She had to carry water from a spring about 100 yards away. There was no day care for her
young children. She had very little help from extended family members, and not even a playpen to keep her little ones safe while she tended to the basic necessities of life.
Her courage and faith kept her going.
As she faced down the challenges life presented her, she was quick to think and quick to
act. I remember one night when I was a child, a pack of wild dogs attacked our milk cow. Mom never hesitated, but ran out into the darkness in her nightgown with only a broom
to save the cow from the vicious dogs. She said later, "I didn't have time to be afraid. I had to save our cow."
Along with her courage came compassion. Although we never had a lot of anything, we always had enough to share. Mom was willing to help anyone in need: the neighbor who
didn't have enough milk, my high school friends who always seemed to be hungry, the stranger whose car ran out of gas on a cold, snowy New Year's eve.
The older I get, the more I recognize the outstanding qualities of character my mother possessed and exhibited throughout her life. Mom made her transition from this life eight
years ago. As I sift through the memories I have of her, I feel her presence with me; we are connected heart to heart. My mom will forever be my teacher, my courageous hero. I
am grateful for all she taught me, now as then.
This Mother's Day, I salute the courage of Lena Mae Sargent Thomas. I love you, Mom!
Happy Mother's Day,
Rev. Robin
