She was there. She wasn't always the sweetest. She wasn't always the nicest. She didn't believe that a person smiling at you or hugging you or even saying the nicest thing to you is love. But she was there. She was always there. She believed that being there when you needed her was love.
She believed in Progress. She believed that her mother was a postal worker and therefore she shouldn't be. She was a nurse. She believed that she was a nurse and therefore her grandchildren shouldn't be. She left a business owner, a software developer, and a movie star.
She believed in education. Tika -- her biggest regret was that she couldn't afford to send you to Marymount. But her biggest pride was that she sent me and Chauna through to college.
She believed in dignity. That one should always keep up appearances even if you didn't have a dollar in your pocket that was no reason to appear as though you don't have a dollar. She believed in family business. That we may fight wars with one another but that should never be exposed to the outside world.
Dignity. Dignity. And dignity always.
Progress. Education. Dignity. But above all substantive love. Love that may not always be the warmest but is always the most reliable. She didn't believe in talking about Christianity. She believed in being a Christian. Living the life, not of a Pharisee or someone with the appearances and words of love and light but of one who would go to the Cross for you, not out of obligation, not to hold it above you, but out of love.
Today we mourn. Tomorrow we remember. But on the third day we honor her. If you wish to honor her here is not the place to do it. Do it out there. Do it on your job. In your school. In your day to day life. And one day, one week, one month won't tell the tale. But progress. Progress. And progress above all else.
She saw herself as part of a legacy. Her mothers legacy. Her legacy. Her daughters legacy. Her nieces, nephews, grandchildrens and great grandchildren's legacies. A steady climb toward the American dream of which she only had a taste of.
If you wish to honor her be greater than all those who came before you. Let not her progress or the progress of her mother or her mother's mother be in vein. Progress. Education. Dignity. That is her legacy. And so it must be ours.
She believed in Progress. She believed that her mother was a postal worker and therefore she shouldn't be. She was a nurse. She believed that she was a nurse and therefore her grandchildren shouldn't be. She left a business owner, a software developer, and a movie star.
She believed in education. Tika -- her biggest regret was that she couldn't afford to send you to Marymount. But her biggest pride was that she sent me and Chauna through to college.
She believed in dignity. That one should always keep up appearances even if you didn't have a dollar in your pocket that was no reason to appear as though you don't have a dollar. She believed in family business. That we may fight wars with one another but that should never be exposed to the outside world.
Dignity. Dignity. And dignity always.
Progress. Education. Dignity. But above all substantive love. Love that may not always be the warmest but is always the most reliable. She didn't believe in talking about Christianity. She believed in being a Christian. Living the life, not of a Pharisee or someone with the appearances and words of love and light but of one who would go to the Cross for you, not out of obligation, not to hold it above you, but out of love.
Today we mourn. Tomorrow we remember. But on the third day we honor her. If you wish to honor her here is not the place to do it. Do it out there. Do it on your job. In your school. In your day to day life. And one day, one week, one month won't tell the tale. But progress. Progress. And progress above all else.
She saw herself as part of a legacy. Her mothers legacy. Her legacy. Her daughters legacy. Her nieces, nephews, grandchildrens and great grandchildren's legacies. A steady climb toward the American dream of which she only had a taste of.
If you wish to honor her be greater than all those who came before you. Let not her progress or the progress of her mother or her mother's mother be in vein. Progress. Education. Dignity. That is her legacy. And so it must be ours.
No comments:
Post a Comment