Mamaw Eunice's Legacy, #2

A few days ago, I wrote a post about how my paternal grandmother, Mamaw Eunice, left to me 59 hand-written pages about her life.

My Mamaw Eunice's father, apparently a real piece of work, made her quit school before she finished the eighth grade.

Tomorrow being Easter, I thought I'd put here some of what she wrote to me about her becoming a Christian. I've had to do a bit of correction. Not having much education, she had little grasp of punctuation and capitalizing the first word of the next sentence. She does OK here and there, but for the most part, it's a single 59 page sentence. I've added a little punctuation and capitalization to make it more readable, but I'll leave her spelling.

I'll add in some parenthetical stuff to estimate what year she's talking about and to clarify things.

All the little towns and places she mentions are in LaSalle Parish in central Louisiana. To this day they are still small, rural towns.

...Then we moved back to the mill town of Trout. Theres where I started to school from. (maybe around 1919) The school was at Good Pine. We lived at Trout three different times. Theres where mama bought me the 60¢ Bible story book that was worth more than all the world to me. It put some thing in my heart that never left. There was just one church there a Methodist Church. The Pastors wife come visiting one day, to ask us to church I'm sure. So I figure mama didn't promise to go but she (pastor's wife) ask could I go an to my surprise yet they let me go. I would gather up several of the other kids around an go to Sunday School an church. I loved it so good an studied the Sunday School so close I nearly memorize it. I knew from then on I needed some thing I didn't have. Later at Summerville I got to go to Sunday School an church when we visited Aunt Ammie. I always got her kids to go with me to the little Free Methodist Church there. But I always felt Papa would nearly beat me to death if I went in and told them I had got saved. So I put it off until after I had been married just a few years. But I would read the Bible after I got grown an long to be saved. Finally at the old Aimoch School building Bro. Jesse Albritton preached one night. We didn't have a church building. Then when he gave the invitation they sang Lord I'm Coming Home. I walked up the isle and really gave my heart to God. I had prayed an studied a lot before but oh the happiness an Joy that came in to my heart that night. I felt so high an lifted up. When I started any where an walked those old trails around Aimoch I went rejoicing and praying an witnessing to any one that would listen to me. The night I walked that isle Malone (her husband, my grandfather) was out side back then, and several of the men and boys stayed out side during church Service to talk but I prayed and talked to him until that fall. One night in the same old School building when the invitation was given he walked the isle and in a few minutes here went mama (her own mother). The day I was Baptised one woman ask mama if she wasn't awful proud of me and she said no, I don't know as I am. But I prayed so much an lived it before them all it wasn't much longer until all the family but Howard (her younger brother) were saved. But I talked to him thru the years an prayed for him until he was Gloriously saved before he died.

She lived a childhood and life so hard I cannot comprehend being able to endure some of the beatings her father gave her, and hateful things said to her.

But she prayed her whole family into the Kingdom of God, including me.

Have you ever heard the saying, "be careful what you wish for, you just might get it"?

With Mamaw Eunice you had to be careful what you asked her to pray for you about. She had FAITH. I mean old-school, amazing stuff following her prayers kind of faith.

I remember sitting between she and Papaw Masters (her husband Malone) at their church when I was a kid and stayed with them during the summer. Mamaw always had Wrigley's Juicy Fruit gum. If my siblings were there too, she would tear pieces in half for us. The smell of Juicy Fruit gum can transport me back there almost as completely as if a time machine existed.

I also remember Papaw Masters's deep baritone voice when we sang hymns. I would be mesmerized by the rich timbre of his voice to the point I would mainly be listening to him instead of praising God myself.

They were much better to us grandkids than their own parents and grandparents had been to them. They were good Christian, salt of the earth type people.

After my Mother in Law's memorial service yesterday, I've been thinking about our loved ones who have passed away, and that I long to see again.

I have faith that I WILL see them again. Those'll be some good times to come.