jstefan posted on February 07, 2011 15:19
Since my mother in law Lorraine has been with us since Christmas, I have been sharing part of my history with her as we reflect over the past.
In our cloak closet, I have boxes of old letters my mother saved, dating back to 1930’s. I found an old box with many apparently unusual stamps. There are letters from my Grandmother Zemmie, my Uncle Jack a 2nd Lieutenant in the Navy from Saipan; there are letters from cousins, sisters, and of course letters between my mother Ruth and my father Reginald.
Many of the letters are routine mundane matters but they do give insight in the day to day mindset of the 1930s-1950s.
Uncle Jack wrote an eloquent tribute to his mother in one letter, remarking how important all her 6 children were to her and the sacrifices she had made to make them successful.
Between the sermon note collections of my Baptist pastor father, I spied a yellowed newspaper clipping. It was the obituary of my father’s father Gordon E Wall. It records
“Mr. Gordon E Wall, one of Thompson, Georgia’s most highly esteemed citizens. . .His death came as quite a shock throughout this section. . .Mr. Wall was held in the highest esteem by all who knew him and was a valuable citizen. He was a member of the Baptist Church in this city and lived a Christian life.” (He was a conductor and baggage master for the Georgia Railroad and was 52 years old at death.)
Some people caution a searcher of genealogy to not dig too deep into their past as they might find a drunkard or a horse thief!
I’m glad and humbly proud to find this scrap of history—my history and the character of my grandfather whom I never met. Also in the collection of letters, I found a picture of him that I carefully examined.
Why was my grandfather a good citizen? Note Philippians 3:20 KJV: “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:” NIV: “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,” It was that his citizenship was in Heaven! Not that Gordon Wall is there now but the principles of Heaven; he lived and was testified to by the witness of the final words composed in his behalf by the local newspaper.
Can we prove our citizenship is in Heaven? Or are we illegal aliens? What would our obituary say about us?