Honor to Whom Honor is Due

I know the title probably leads one to believe this will be a Memorial Day post. Lest one thinks I have forgotten the fallen troops who have so bravely given their lives for this great country, let me set that straight. I am deeply grateful to all who have given so much and am proud to be an American. However, this is not about Memorial Day but a time today to honor someone dear to our family.

This afternoon we drove to my hometown to attend a surprise birthday party for a sweet family friend who turned 80 years old. This lady truly is someone near and dear to many. She has three children of her own and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In addition to her immediate family, she has so many of us who have benefited from her wisdom and kindness over the years---too many to even count. I was honored to be invited to be a part of her celebration.

This sweet lady and her husband lived on our farm when I was growing up. For those of you who didn't grow up on a small farm in the South, this may sound strange, but to those of us who did, we know this is the way it was. The land owner (farmer) often had a family live in a house on the farm land and farm "on halves" with him. That's exactly what Margaret and her husband, Grantt, did. They lived in a small house on our farm. Even though intelligent, Margaret's husband had not had an opportunity to receive any education and couldn't write his name, only sign with an "X". However, they were such hard workers and made the most of every opportunity. Over the years and through much hard work, they were able to build a nice brick home. By this time, we were no longer farming and Grantt was working somewhere else. Grantt died many years ago, but Margaret is still doing well. Her children are all very successful and have good jobs, good educations, wonderful families of their own, and Margaret is the one who they credit for everything. However, they will quickly tell you it's not actually Margaret, but her prayers for them and God answering her prayers. Her encouragement, her steadfastness, her Christian example have led her family to a relationship with the Lord. She exemplifies the woman in Proverbs 31. Her children truly do rise up and call her blessed. So do the rest of us who have been blessed by this very special, soft-spoken, godly lady. Here are some pictures from her day.

The beautiful invitation done by her daughter.

Margaret when she walked in. I know it's a bit blurred but had to include this. She was really surprised!

There were well over a hundred people there to celebrate Margaret.

Margaret's older daughter and me-We were good friends and played together growing up. Sadly, we grew up in the days of segregation and went to different schools. However, we had fun playing together in the afternoons after school.

Margaret and Me