In Retrospect

1.  Good morning! I trust that you and yours are well this fine Monday morning!  

     There comes a time when we, by whatever provocation, look back over our lives. I find myself doing that this morning. As I look back with thanks upon my life, I see many folk who impacted it for good.

1. I see my momma and I thank my Father for sending me from heaven to her home as her youngest baby. Her values and her genes still determine what I do and who I am. Thank You, God, for my momma who gave me the knowledge of Jesus, Your Son.  
2. I see key teachers, who changed my life with but a few kind and well-placed words and I  thank Him.  
3. I see the grandmotherly types of ladies who kept vigilance on me and used a strident word or two when necessary to keep on the right path.

     I no longer look back on those old ladies with the ignorance of optimistic youth and think, "She's not my momma, and she cain't tell me what to do!" Instead, I look back and am thankful for the things given to me by those old ladies. I know, now, that they were sent to me by God to help me on my journey and to guard me from myself.
     I want to say that I am grateful for every admonishing and encouraging word and every prayer that they spoke on my behalf.

Thank You, God, for teaching me

To die to self and to strive to be what

You want me to be.

I know that my momma's teaching and her prayers

And the words of the grandmotherly ladies

Who took an interest in me carry me along

Though their voices have been stilled and

From this veil of time, they have flown.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Stepping On Jones