Things My Mama Said

When I was a child, my mama had many wise sayings. Some were comical that made you laugh without her intending to do so. Some were typical motherly wisdom such as, always be lady like, dress appropriate, don’t be boy crazy, take good care of yourself when you are young or you will pay later when you’re older! But many of her sayings were profound or biblical such as “God will make a way out of no way”, “A bird can fly high for so long, but he must come down for food and water”, or “You should help others in any way that you can, because you never know when someone might have to help you.”

I can recall, along with my siblings, witnessing one of Mama’s sayings come to life. When I was about 10 or 11 years old, my family lived in a house that had an old red barn on the property. The property was surrounded by pastureland and grazing cattle. A rancher, whom we called the “Cow Man”, owned the cattle. He came frequently in his big shiny pick-up truck to care for his cattle. Occasionally the “Cow Man’s” wife would come with him and they would often park their truck near the old red barn. On one beautiful sunny day, the “Cow Man’s” wife drove to the barn alone, presumably to check on the cattle. She drove a beautiful new Cadillac. Mama along with us kids, peered from our house window and watched her as she parked. But something was different that day. We watched and waited for the “Cow Man’s” wife to get out of her car, but she never did. After what seemed liked hours of watching and waiting, Mama decided to walk down to the barn to check on the lady to see if there was a problem. To Mama’s dismay, she discovered that the “Cow Man’s” wife had passed out and was slumped over at the steering wheel. Mama immediately began working to revive her. She yelled out for us kids to bring water and a towel. Mama began bathing the woman’s face with a cool wet towel. It appeared that the woman had possibly overdosed on something! Mama sent one of my siblings to a neighbor’s house to call for help! By God’s grace, the “Cow Man’s” wife was revived and saved that day! Mama always said that we should help people in any way that we can. On that day, Mama put her words into action. With God’s power, Mama did more than merely help someone, Mama literally saved a life!

Scripture says, the noble woman helps the needy, speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue, Proverbs 31:20,26. Mama spoke with wisdom, she gave us faithful instructions and on that beautiful sunny day, she helped the “Cow Man’s” wife who was in need!

Cover Picture of author’s mother, Annie Ramsire, courtesy of author.

Food for Today:

Proverbs 31:31

Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.