I was a single parent for twenty three years before I re-married. MaDear and Dad taught me how to be a parent. I invested in my children and tried to be an example for them. Along the way, my daughters married and I gained son in loves. You never know who will enter your life and for what reason. I gained a god daughter, another son in love and a grandson in love. God was not through blessing me and sent me a loving man who became my husband. We were a blended family. I gained a daughter in love and more grandchildren in love. One weekend, my oldest daughter and her husband came home. My family was now accustomed to sitting around the round kitchen table instead of a pot belly stove. They told us they were expecting a baby. We were overjoyed. We welcomed our beautiful granddaughter the following year.
After ten years of marriage, my husband passed away. I thought about my wishes as a little girl. I wanted equality, a job for Dad so we could eat, live in a house and be warm, and when I grew up, a husband who put his arms around me in church. After years of protests laws changed to level the playing field. Dad finally obtained employment. It was a long road. I had a home that kept me warm in winter and cool in summer. It was a long road. I had the basic necessities of life. It was a long road. I had a passion and career I loved. It was a long road. I had a loving family and friends. It was a long road. God sent me a strong husband who loved Him first, his family and put his arms around me in church! It was a long road. I continue to travel along this long road. My journey does not end. Life is meant to be explored.
There was a purpose in my poverty. I was taught the importance of hard work, stewardship and character. My purpose was to enjoy a loving relationship with God and learn the meaning of true prosperity. There are many opportunities available to all of us. Prosperity is a quality of existence. You learn the ability to give and share. You have the ability to bless someone other than yourself. It is not measured by material gains. Make mistakes, learn from them, and do better. God gives us free will. Either we follow HIM or we don’t. When I accepted Jesus as my personal savior, absolute poverty eventually turned to absolute joy!
I attended a Bible based teaching church for over twenty years. I was under the leadership of a great man who attended to his flock. After marrying, my husband attended this church with me. I learned from my apostle that God didn’t create evil. It occurs when we remove Him from our lives. If you can change the heart, you can change the culture.
After my husband passed away, I moved out of town and searched for churches similar to my home church. MaDear and Dad taught me that denominations were not important, so I didn’t choose churches based on that. We are made in the image of God so the racial makeup of the church was not important. I visited several churches in my new home town. I met new friends, and they invited me to their churches.
The Bible teaches us that God rises up the weak to confound the strong. Like Gideon, I felt like the least. My family was the poorest of the poor. I didn’t realize at the time that we were among the among the richest.
Francie Mae. September 15, 2024.