I never thought that I would stand and speak at my mother’s funeral, but what an honor. I can say that because my mom was a good person. She was the most unselfish person that I have ever known. I knew that and the people I have spoken to over the last couple of days have confirmed that. She loved my dad, she loved me and Jennifer and Brad and BJ, she loved the rest of her family and she loved many of you in this room. She was not one to show her emotions outwardly, not very often. When I told her I was getting married, she said good – don’t come back. When I told her I was pregnant the first time, she said I hope you know what you’re doing………….and repeated it again when I was pregnant the second time. When I went into labor with my second child – late at night, at home alone with a small child, I called her and she said – what do you want me to do (like I needed to explain the circumstances to her). BUT, my momma was there for me through my marriage, through the births of both of my children and every single day of my life. She gave up her desires and pleasures and sacrificed for me during my childhood. She sacrificed for me, as did my dad, so that I could have when she didn’t. I wasn’t always appreciative of her sacrifices. But, during the last 12 years of my life, I have come to understand her sacrifice and tried my best to give back to her too. She was not a perfect woman, none of us are, but she truly lived out God’s desire for us to serve others. I think my dad and my sister would agree as would most of you.

The last three years of momma’s life have been hard. She beat cancer, but the chemo sucked the life out of her –literally. She told me more than once, that if the cancer came back, she wouldn’t do it again. As I look back over the last few weeks, I see God’s hand at work in leading me to this event in my life. God is so good and so many times we don’t see it. I have been so busy the last few weeks and mom and I hadn’t talked every day like we normally did, but this week, He saw to it that we did. Tuesday my hair dryer broke and I forgot to get me one that day. I went to see her Tuesday night to see if she had an extra (mom or dad always do) and got to spend some time with her and dad. I am normally at church on Wednesday nights, but for several reasons (excuses really), we didn’t go to church on Wednesday. It was mom and dad’s 44th anniversary and me and the girls went to see them. We spent some good time with them and we all hugged momma, kissed her and told her we loved her – as we do in our family (ALWAYS). I did not know it would be the last time I would see her alive here on earth.

I will see her again. Of that I have no doubt. See when momma was sick in the hospital with the cancer, Bro Phil came to see her. He asked me one of those days if I was worried about momma. I told him I didn’t think so and he told me I shouldn’t be because he had talked with her and he knew that she had accepted the Lord as her Savior and there was no doubt where she would be if she didn’t make it. She too, told me the same thing once she was feeling much better. She told me she had finished her work on earth. Jennifer and I were grown and had good husbands and we could take care of ourselves-that she didn’t have to worry about us anymore and that was all she ever asked God to give her. She told me not to worry about her when she was gone, that she would be in Heaven and she was sure of that. Last week, she had come to the house to give Brad his birthday present and when she was leaving, I walked her out as I always did and she told me she was tired. I said, I know momma. She said Tracey, I’m tired of being tired. I told her to get some rest and sleep and she said that was all she was doing now. I said good, you’re not hurting then, right? Momma’s feet and hands had been hurting her since the chemo. She couldn’t even walk without limping. She told me, no, I guess not and we both laughed. But now I know she really was tired.

I say all of this to honor my mom’s memory and to share with you how you too can best honor my mom’s memory. Just as mom gave sacrificially to us, God gave the ultimate sacrifice to us – His Son, Jesus. Mom knew this and had accepted Jesus as her Savior and she is at home with Him now. My comfort is that I know that with all my heart and I know she is no longer in pain. She went just as she desired – quick and no prolonged suffering. To honor my mother’s memory, the one thing you can do is look at yourself and answer the question – will I see Verna when I die? If the answer to that is no, you owe it to yourself to make that right with God. The saddest thing for momma would be to know she won’t see you again. If you don’t know Jesus as your Savior, you find me before you leave here today and I’ll share with you how to make that happen. You don’t have change your life to ask Him to be your Savior. You ask Him to be your Savior and he’ll change your life for you – I know that from experience.

I leave you with these verses that give me comfort daily and have been what I gone to the past two days –

Lamentations 3:22-24 “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul, Therefore I hope in Him!”

That is the hope I have and that is the hope my mom had. You too can have it if you ask for it. That hope is why I can stand here before you with a broken heart and tell you God is good – All the Time.

Thank you for being here with me and my family today to celebrate my mom’s life.

Verna, Sue, Nell and Pearl





Nell and Verna

I think of you often and make no outward show,
But what it means to lose you, no one will ever know
You wished no one farewell, not even said good-bye,
You were gone before I knew it, and only God knows why.
You are not forgotten nor will you ever be,
As long as life and memories last, I will remember thee.
To some you may be forgotten, to others a part of the past,
But to me who loved you dearly, your memories will always last.
Nothing can be more beautiful than the memories I have of you.
To me, you were someone special, God must have thought so too!
If tears could build a staircase and memories a lane,
I would walk all the way to Heaven, and bring you back again.