A Cloud of Witnesses

Mama who died on February 19, 2014 was the most beautiful and kindest person I have ever known. All I am, I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the Christian, moral, intellectual, and other values she taught me. My mother instilled in me the importance of treating each person with respect. She taught me to be kind and caring. For her outpouring of prayers, love, and support over so many years there are not enough words to express my gratitude; for raising me in a home where faith in God was a part of our daily lives; for teaching, by example, that each person is important and kindness to others is the bedrock of a Christian life; for the gift of laughter she gave me from my childhood; and for her love of singing; I am eternally grateful. The ability to laugh has made my life far less stressful than it could have been. In addition, although I am by no means a singer, I do love to sing; singing eases the tensions of life and lifts my spirit to a higher plane. My mother sang all the time as she carried out her daily chores, as she rested from them, as she communed with God; Mama loved to sing. My mother’s all-time favorite song was “Take The Name of Jesus With You.” As she sent her children, family members, and other folks off on their journeys whether to university in a faraway town, just to other nearby parts of Jamaica, or to faraway lands; she would sing her favorite song and then pray for travelling mercies. My mother’s kindness is legendary. I still meet people who tell stories of how my mother would give them one of her dresses when all she had were two good dresses! I recall going to church and seeing other little girls in my dresses that I thought were still at home. In addition, it seemed that her pots always had extra food and thus her meals stretched for whoever turned up at breakfast, lunch, or dinner time. There were even incidents when, in my adult years, my dinner came up missing if I were late getting home from work as she believed I would have eaten and a poor hungry passerby needed the nourishment! No one came to visit and left empty handed, she had to send something home for the others back at home. Yes, my mother firmly believed that as much as it was done to the least of God’s children, it was done unto God. In addition to gifts of material goods, she was never too busy to listen to others and seemed to attract both friends and strangers to pour out their troubles to her listening ears. She was a village psychiatrist. I would like to think I have inherited some of these gifts and talent from my mother.

There are too many examples of my mother’s love and caring for me to write in this book. However, this one is paramount. On my first day at high school, Mama waited for this “country bumpkin” until school was out as she did not want me to have to find my way to the bus; she did not want to take any risk that I would be lost; indeed for that entire first day, every time I looked out of my classroom, there was Mama sitting there watching and waiting for me. It was very comforting to me and it was one of the most selfless acts I had ever witnessed. I can still hear Mama calling my name in prayer as she prayed for each one of us, my siblings and I, by name. There were nine of us so that was quite a long prayer! Yes, I could go on and on but... for now I’ll just say, I love Mama from the bottom of my heart. I am so grateful God made her my Mama. If there were to be a chief of my Cloud of Witnesses, that would be my mother. I will always love and cherish Mama.