Bma

We lost a special lady this week. Whether you knew her as Sherry, Mom, Grammy, or, as my kids called her, B-ma, my mom touched a lot of lives over the span of her 88 years. She took on the role of “mother” at age 13. Her father died the previous year and her mother, who was only 28, struggled to adjust. Much of the responsibility for the three younger kids fell to B-ma, so she quit school at the end of eighth grade. She did the best she could, often needing to track down her mom at one of the local bars to ask her for money to buy groceries. It was just the beginning of a lifetime of mothering.

B-ma always spoke as though everyone faced such trials. They did not embitter or defeat her. She never let her past steal from her future. Though her life wasn’t always easy, B-ma didn't just survive the challenges, she thrived. Intelligent and determined, she took Dale Carnegie courses, studied for the GED, and received her diploma at age 55.  B-ma led youth, chaired her church council, and taught Sunday school. She accomplished whatever she set her mind to.

Family meant the world to B-ma. While working at the sewing factory and later the oil company, she made the time to attend high school plays, band and chorus concerts, sports events, and graduations. She quilted and sewed for EVERYONE, hosted extended family meals (she made the best fried fish, potato salad, and oatmeal with lots of brown sugar), and crafted favors for numerous family celebrations.

B-ma knew how to have a good time. She loved going to the beach with her grandkids, looking for shells, and cooking the critters out of them. She went sled riding, walked on the ridge, played baseball, and swam in the Aughwick. She could entertain with nothing but a couple of stuffed dogs during a power outage or a funny get-up at a retreat.

B-ma and her sister Jan were quite the team. They hung wallpaper, painted, and remodeled. What they lacked in skill they made up for in ingenuity. For fun, they frequented dumps to dig for old bottles, created homemade candles from paraffin and crayons, fished together, and baked roasters full of cookies.

B-ma was always thinking of others. She opened her home to family and strangers alike, and welcomed everyone we brought by. Her kind, Christian heart would reach out and help anyone. Just last week she packed two children’s gift boxes for Samaritan’s Purse and two for Flapjacks with Frosty, sent a check to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, and made sure her friend had a Thanksgiving meal.

In her 70’s and 80’s, she served on the board at the local senior citizens center, quilted for charity every Monday evening, hosted Bible study, taxied her friends around, baked a bazillion nut horns, and played to win at Scrabble. B-ma visited the sick and shut-in, walked in the annual Relay for Life, and supported a plethora of charities.

Uppermost in B-ma’s mind was always the salvation of those she loved. She prayed for and witnessed to so many, many people. She knew Jesus as her Savior and wanted others to have that same assurance of forgiveness and eternal life in Heaven. She wants to see you ALL there!

B-ma was the quintessential Proverbs 31 woman:
“She keeps herself busy making wool and linen cloth.
She gets up before daylight to prepare food for her family . . .
She is a hard worker, strong and industrious.
She knows the value of everything she makes and works late into the night.
She is generous to the poor and needy.
She makes bedspreads and wears clothes of fine purple linen.
She is strong and respected . . ..
She speaks with a gentle wisdom.
She is always busy and looks after her family's needs.
Her children show their appreciation . . .
Charm is deceptive and beauty disappears,
but a woman who honors the Lord should be praised.
Give her credit for all she does. She deserves the respect of everyone."

©2020 Pamela D. Williams