Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Cameo of a Strong Woman

Pam, her husband, and her 3 grandmothers on her wedding day


by Pam Hillman


A strong woman is a smart woman.

My maternal grandmother, Mamaw Evans, was a smart woman. Down here in Mississippi, people used to say, “She’s a smart worker.” That meant that she worked smarter, not harder. She planned the work and worked the plan. Mamaw Evans was that kind of woman. Mamaw and Papaw lived in the middle of forty acres and grew cotton, corn, and vegetables. Papaw was a truck farmer, and spent many summer days peddling vegetables. Mamaw liked to stay at home and sew and putter around the house while he was gone. But Mamaw’s puttering wasn’t the ordinary stay-at-home-mom-and-bake-cookies housewife kind. Papaw might come home to find the walls in the house had been moved. Kitchen needed to be bigger? No problem. Mamaw made it so. From all accounts, Mamaw moved every wall in their house at one time or another. Now that’s a smart woman.

A strong woman is a caring woman.
           
            My paternal grandmother, Granny Tune, was a caring woman. She had five children and a host of grandchildren. She was a short, dumpy woman and could come across a little grumpy sometimes. One of my cousins affectionately called her Granny-Grump-Stump. I wanted to call her that because it fit so perfectly, but I was too polite to ever actually utter the words. Granny had five children and three of them lived within walking distance of her rural country home. So that meant in her elder years, she had grandchildren and great-grandchildren parading in and out of her house from daylight to dark, especially during the summertime. No wonder she got a little grumpy on occasion. But she loved every child that came through her door, and her Christmas shopping started the day after Christmas when toys went on sale. By June, she’d proudly announce that she’d not only completed her shopping but her wrapping as well. Now, that’s not only caring, that’s smart!

While both my grandparents passed away several years ago, we're still blessed to have my husband's grandmother with us.

A strong woman is a Godly woman.



My husband’s grandmother, known far and wide as Ms. Lorene or just Mamaw, is a Godly woman. She just turned 97 years young. She dropped out of school in the eleventh grade to get married, went back to school to get her GED at the age of 77, then went on to get her college degree. She was the oldest person in the state of Mississippi to be inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa Hall of Fame and was invited to the Phi Theta Kappa Convention in Washington, DC. With degree in hand, she spent the next ten or so years teaching GED Algebra at the local community college while sharing the gospel with her students. I’d say that makes her smart, caring, and Godly. Youcan read more about Mamaw Lorene at Calico Trails in a post honoring her 93birthday in December 2011.

Strong women have hidden strengths that might not always be apparent to passing acquaintances, but those of us who know them well can spot those strengths a mile away. And we strive to emulate them.

I’d love for you to share a cameo of a strong woman who’s influenced you

 ~

CBA Bestselling author Pam Hillman was born and raised on a dairy farm in Mississippi and spent her teenage years perched on the seat of a tractor raking hay. In those days, her daddy couldn’t afford two cab tractors with air conditioning and a radio, so Pam drove the Allis Chalmers 110. Even when her daddy asked her if she wanted to bale hay, she told him she didn’t mind raking. Raking hay doesn’t take much thought so Pam spent her time working on her tan and making up stories in her head. Now, that’s the kind of life every girl should dream of!

10 comments:

  1. I love the stories about your Southern grandmothers. Mine were Yankee ladies whose influence lingers in my life. They also were strong and faith filled.

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    1. Amen, Rebecca! We were so blessed to have Godly grandmothers, weren't we? Being strong women and hard workers was a plus, but having a Christian influence on grandchildren was even better. :)

      Merry Christmas to you and yours!

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  2. My Mom, Mildred, is a very strong lady. She is 96 and still doing her best although taken over by many frailties. She was in the middle of a family of 10 children; married a man who wanted to go to Bible School and become a foreign missionary; she went along and was a very strong support to him and raised 4 children overseas amidst all kinds of illness and danger. She loves God so much and is an encourager. sm wileygreen1(at)yahoo(dot)com

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    1. Sharon, now that's strong and brave... to go to a foreign country, have your babies and live in a whole different culture. I stand in awe of women who do that!

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  3. You resemble the grandma with the cake. :) It's neat that you've gotten to enjoy your grandmothers for so long. My dad's mom was 79 when I was born. I remember her though because she lived to be 95. I never knew my mother's mom because she died when Mom was only 2. Enjoy those old gals while you still have them.

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    1. Both of my grandmothers (on my right in the picture) passed away in the late 80s/early 90s. My husband's grandmother is still living, but yes, it is wonderful to have her still with us, and I'm blessed to have had them all as long as I did.

      Merry Christmas everyone! Blessings on this special day!

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  4. Thank you for posting this small, but strong, bit of family history. Posts like this hold a special place in the hearts of the readers as well as family members. Very nice.

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    1. Ah, thank you, Anita Mae. I'm thankful to have known all four of my grandparents. What a blessing. Merry Christmas, lady! :)

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  5. Loved this post, Pam - thank you!! You have/had some amazing grandmothers - mine were strong, hard-working, godly women, as well. Your post prompted numerous wonderful memories.

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    1. Isn't it wonderful to pull out old pictures and old memories and reminisce? Enjoy those memories!

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