She Puts God First

Children, I want to tell you more about your great grandmother. She is my Mom and you know her as Grammie Ruth.

There are things I know about her that you also need to know. They are the important things in life that I hope you set your sights on. As you look at a little of her story, I hope you choose to model your life after her. The main thing is this: she puts God first in her life.

I call her a "survivor" and for good reason.
Her life has been filled with blessings, yes. But it has not been an easy life at times. In my opinion, a person who lives an easy life misses out on great opportunities to learn lessons that build character.

I don't know where to begin and I don't know where to end. Why? Because my mother was my hero from a very early age. Maybe I'll start there.

An early memory was of Mommy in the kitchen. She baked almost all of our bread and pastries while I was a child. She worked tirelessly to meet goals of having enough vegetables, fruits, jams, and butter in jars and in the deep freeze so we would be well stocked for the winter. My Mom was never a slacker!

She was such a good cook that she and my Dad were hired for a winter (when I was about four) to work in the cook shack at Uncle Allie Nason's lumber camp. She worked tirelessly to feed a multitude of hungry men day after day. That was in Princeton, Maine. And except for the long rides between Littleton and Princeton on the occasional weekend, it was a real adventure for ME. But it was hard work for her and she was no stranger to it.

In the spring planting season my Mom could be seen "cutting seed". This involved slicing barrels and barrels of potatoes into chunks that had at least one eye. These seed potatoes were taken to the fields, dumped into the huge hoppers of the "planters" and distributed in rows upon rows. Those were long, hard days. But this was a task that had to be done and she did it cheerfully.

Until I was ten years old, we had NO running water at our home. Laundry was tedious for my mother. Water had to be hand pumped and carried to the house to be heated and then poured into the tub of the electric washing machine. We would not have dreamed of washing clothing in cold water in those days! And, of course, after the clothes were washed, rinsed, put through the wringer, and hung out to dry all of that water had to be drained off and carried back outside to be dumped in the pasture behind our house. Children were drafted into duty and we helped as much as we could.

Carrying dry laundry from the clothesline to the house was not the end of it by any means! There was no permanent press fabric, so the next day after the laundry was done it all had to be ironed. That was usually on a Tuesday and that was a long day as well. If Mom found any items that needed to be mended or patched, they were put aside until she had the opportunity to repair tears, replace buttons, etc. Items that were too worn to repair became cleaning rags after intact portions were removed and saved for quilting. People who grew up in the Great Depression learned to "waste not, want not". In our terms, they "recycled" everything!

When I was only thirteen, my mother became a widow. She was 34. She has told me how she looked at her children and wondered how she would ever provide and care for the four of us by herself. She felt helpless and alone. But even in the darkest hours of her private grief, she was never alone. The God who clothes the flowers of the field and cares for the birds of the air cared for her and for us. I can say without reservations that we saw every need provided. For example, her dad and her brother Lawrence plowed the deep snow of winter, keeping shoveling to a minimum. Uncle Merle hired her to help supervise his harvesting crews in his bean fields. We went to the various pea fields in town after they were harvested to glean peas enough for our season's goal. 

Mom was a worker, a doer, a giver, a servant. Examples: she served as president of the Parent Teacher Association when we were in elementary school. She taught Sunday School and gave many children rides on Sunday mornings. She volunteered as director of summer camps at Saint John Valley Bible Camp. She baked, made trays of goodies, and delivered them to the elderly at Christmas time. She helped care for nieces and nephews when the need arose. She pulled items from her shelves and from her freezer to share with people in need. She made extra money by doing book keeping and income tax preparation out of our home. She sewed clothing for her children and helped make quilts with the ladies from the Church.

There was so much! Whatever Mom found to do, she did her very best. She did it for the honor of the Lord. She did it to benefit her children. She loved her neighbor as herself. And she did it willingly.

She was always tenacious, courageous, ethical, and upright. Was she perfect mother? NO. Did she make mistakes? YES. Like everyone else who was ever born, Mom is a sinner. But I can attest to the fact that Mom did and does want to glorify God in her life. I am glad she is my mother.