Timothy S. Morton
There is a lifetime of experiences I could share about my mother. I could speak about her likes and dislikes, her little peculiarities about certain things, or the way she would tilt her head and smile when she saw family or friend. I could tell of her adoration for her mother, father, brothers, and sisters and relate the stories she told me of growing up in a large family that dearly loved each other. I could speak of her strong will and independent spirit and how she was not intimidated by anyone. In fact, she would go “toe to toe” with a doctor, lawyer, or grizzly bear for a family member or even a friend. I could relate how my mom’s ambitions in life were not money, fame, a career, and the like, but only to be a good wife, mother, grandmother, and most of all a good Christian.
However, as important as these things are among my memories of my mother, I wish to relate with these few words what was the most important issue in her life—her relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. She loved her Lord dearly and my greatest comfort this day is knowing she is with Him now.
Mom received Jesus Christ as her Savior in the early 1970s around the time of her Mother’s death. She adored her mother and was deeply saddened by the loss. However, her mother was a Christian and mom took comfort in that, but mom was not sure of her own status before the Lord. She remembered how her mother would tell her of being saved and how the Lord would redeem any person from their sins and make them a child of God if they would only receive Christ and accept His death in their behalf, but she wasn’t sure about herself. So one day to settle the matter in her mind she had a meeting with the Lord in prayer, confessed Jesus Christ as her Savior and accepted His death in her behalf, and from that day forward she had a peace that endured until her last breath. Now she is with her beloved mother, and we are the ones left with the pain—but not for long.
Once mom was convinced she was right with the Lord and was certain of her destiny, guess who she placed in her sights next? Yes, it was dad, Pam, and me, and for some reason I think she zeroed in on me the most.
It seemed like mom was constantly "pestering" me, a know-it-all teenager, about the need to become a believer in Jesus Christ. She regularly encouraged me to read the Bible and receive Christ as my savior. Sometimes I would be short and a smart-aleck with her and say, “OK, mom, you don’t have to keep on and on about it.” But even then I took comfort in the knowledge she was praying for all of us regularly.
After a couple years of hearing this her words and prayers bore fruit, I became convicted of my sins and up in my bedroom in 1980 I asked the Lord Jesus Christ to come into my heart and save me—and He did. I was in such a daze after that that I don’t think I told mom for a couple days and when I did she was so happy. Then over the next few years when I began to study and teach the Scriptures she was overjoyed. She would loan out tapes of my messages to people and "brag me up" much to my embarrassment. She would hand out some of the books and articles I had written to every preacher she met and tell them to read them. She was sometimes forceful in her methods. Just a couple weeks ago, a few day before she had her hemorrhage, I went down to my parents house and she was reading the Scriptures and had some of my books laying beside her. She said, "I'm going to take these books out to the people at the church and hand them out." I said, "Mom, you’re going to wear those people out with those books. I'm sure every one that wants to read them already has." She replied, "I don't care...they need to read them." That was my mother. Once she had her mind made up, there was no changing it. Oh, how I miss her!
Of course, she was not satisfied until all of us were saved and along the way Pam became a Christian and then in 1985 daddy did as well. We are all now Christians primarily because of the persistent prayers and concern of that dear lady.
I
know I speak
for Pam as well when I say, every thing about us that is good, and
decent, and
right, I owe to that godly lady and my father. Any accomplishment
I have in
life that is of any value in this world and in eternity is
directly because of
their godly influence. Besides my salvation, the mother,
father,
wife, and family the Lord has given me are by far the
greatest blessings
he has bestowed upon me. I have been blessed beyond measure. It is
a shame I
did not always realize that fact.
Nevertheless, mom encouraged me, instructed me, and most of
all prayed for
me that I would amount to something for the Lord. I have regrets
now. I suppose
they come with a loss such as this. But I wish I would have
talked to mom
more, been more considerate of her, told her how much she meant to
me more
often, but me, being the selfish ingrate I can sometimes be,
neglected to do
those things as I should. Now I must wait until I see her in
glory.
Mom knew what the important things in life were—the Lord, family, and people in general. It is such a sad commentary on me that it took her death for me to fully realize this.
During that most miserable final night at the hospital, I wondered why the Lord just didn't quickly take her home and spare her and us the agony, but now, I know we, or at least myself, had lessons to learn. It is almost as if the Lord said to my mother that He needs to use her to teach us some important truths before he takes her home, and knowing my mother, if the Lord told her that her suffering would in some way benefit us, she would eagerly sacrifice herself to that purpose; something she has done all our lives. She taught me lessons in death I believe I would not have learned any other way. And most of the lessons are simple. One of them is not to take any blessing the Lord gives us for granted. I don’t know how many times I have heard and read, “The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away,” but these words have more meaning now. I’m sure there are more lessons yet to be revealed.
When I was around 12 years old mom wrecked her motorcycle and broke her left knee on a rutted out country road in Tucker county. My father scrambled for a way to get mom out of there and to the doctor. Soon two fishermen happened by in an old beat up utility van and offered to take mom to the hospital. The only place for her to ride was in the back lying on an old board. We all piled into the van and mom laid in the back clutching her knee in severe pain, but without complaint. Finally, after many bumps and miles we got to the hospital in Parsons. Mom was in the emergency room and the doctor was trying to set her knee back in place and her pain was excruciating. Me and Pam could hear her moans down the hall. On hearing this I completely lost what little composure I had and bawled like a baby. The nurses tried to comfort me but I could not be comforted. I had to see my mommy. The nurse finally took me to the door where I could see mom lying on a cot in that dingy room, and mom, still in much pain, looked over at me and seeing my tears motioned for me to come to her. She brushed my forehead with her hand and said, “I’m going to be all right, Timmy…Your mommy is going to be all right.”
On Dec. 21, the day my mother suffered her cerebral hemorrhage, at about 8:15 in the morning my father called me in a panic and said he found mom outside on the ground barefooted and in her pajamas. I raced down there and he had already gotten her in the basement and covered up with blankets. I ran to mom and saw she was shivering and blood was on her face from her cut ear, but her eyes were open and I said rubbing her forehead, "Are you hurt, mom...are you alright?" She looked right at me and said, "I'm all right." I ran around in a panic with my dad waiting for the ambulance and went back to mom who was still shivering and said while rubbing her checks, "Are you cold, Mom." She looked at me again and repeated, "I'm all right." At the time I thought she must be delirious or confused because it was quite obvious she was not all right. We thought she had a stroke or something. However, during the eight days she was in the hospital I had time to think about her words, and on the day she died, while I was pacing the halls and corridors of the hospital, it was then revealed to me what mom was saying. Instead of speaking of her physical condition at the time, she was trying to comfort me for what she knew was coming, and even though mom has now been being whisked away from us into the presence of the Lord, I know that if she could she would rub my forehead with her hand, as she has done to me and Pam so many times before, and brush my check with her fingers and whisper softly and tenderly to me, "I'm all right, Timmy...Your mommy is all right."
Thank you.<