The Kentucky Lady…

The past three and a half months you might think that I dropped from the world. In a way I might be tempted to agree. However I have walked through a valley that I would not have missed although it was mixed with pain and joy. About four months ago now my Mother, a remarkable lady of faith and character, a true patriot, went to the hospital emergency room. Over the following 3 ½ months we moved through the medical system, hospital to rehabilitation hospital, rehabilitation hospital to skilled nursing facility, skilled nursing facility to hospital – again, back to the skilled nursing facility and finally to the hospice unit of a specialty hospital.

Through all that time I saw fresh, the character of a woman who was remarkable. For the most part she was without pain but continued to lose strength as the days turned into weeks and then months. She experienced pain towards the very end as the slow process of her body giving way to the struggle of time eventually reached that point where she left this place and went to be with her Lord. The strength and love that she demonstrated was more than I have seen in any other person.

My Mom has for the most part raised her daughter and three sons on her own. Both husbands from two marriages had passed away and she took the responsibility to stand in the gap for all of us. Through her support and love we grew to become not just adults but Christians of faith and active belief. We learned about her God by her actions and about prayer from her example. We each know that we are to the greatest extant who we are and what we have accomplished because of her devotion and prayer. She was a remarkable lady.

She earned the title the “Kentucky Lady” during World War II when as a code breaker; she sometimes filled in on the radio to ships. The sailors at sea heard her Kentucky accent and affectionately referred to her as the “Kentucky Lady.” It was later found out that since the US frequently named battleships after states that the Japanese monitoring radio traffic had spent time trying to locate what had to be a battle group, “The Kentucky Lady.”

I encourage you to take a moment and read her obituary in the Houston Chronicle and an article they did on her life a few days after her passing. Her life was a comfort and inspiration not only to her family but the countless lives that she touched. This Christmas and New Years has been very difficult for me personally. Yet I honestly can say that the faith in God that she taught me is working in a remarkable way. His grace is sufficient. Although that grace doesn’t come early, it does come right on time and meets my every need. Please pray for the family she leaves behind. She is fine and in the presence of the Lord she knew, loved and served.

Chronicle Obid:
http://www.legacy.com/HoustonChronicle/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=121530366

Chronicle Article:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/deaths/6174549.html

Copyright 2009