THE LEGACY OF A LOVING PARENT

By John Ross Thompson
July 19, 2007

THE LEGACY OF A LOVING PARENT

You won’t be surprised that I’m thinking today about the legacy of a loving parent. My mother, Agnes Applebee Thompson, died July 17 at age 95. I hope my thoughts help you to reflect on the legacy of those who have formed you, and the legacy that you are leaving for others.

For those of you at UUMC, I realize this is the second time in one and one-half years that you have had a pastor lose his mother by death. Thanks to the miracle of email, I have already heard words of comfort and strength from an amazing number of you.

We sat at Mom’s bedside for three days and nights early this week, not knowing when she would die, but knowing that she would not recover. Our fear was that she would linger for days or weeks, which she never would have wanted to do. Except for bad knees and failing eyesight, she kept up with the world, even though she lived longer than any person on either side of the family.

It is my task on July 21 to speak some words of tribute to her at her memorial service. They have been forming in my mind, and of course are inadequate.

Mom is the one who nursed me through serious illnesses and a fractured vertebra as a youth. While my brothers and father were working on the farm, I had the advantage of spending many hours with her, reflecting on the world far beyond the little village near which we lived in Erie County, Pennsylvania. She opened my eyes to much more than that village, and she also taught me the enduring love of family and God.

Mom was only the second person in her family to finish high school, and she was the only one to graduate from college. She taught for eight years in one-room country schools until her 4 children began to arrive. For more than 35 years, she taught an adult class in our church, as well as taking part in everything else that happened in that church and community.

The joy we have had in her 95 years is that her great-grandchildren, as well as her children and grandchilden, have been able to know her, and to learn from her. Her careful attention to all of them showed them how precious they are, and how important their lives can be. My children have spent hours with her, soaking up the wisdom of one who lived “three score and ten” plus 25.

On July 4 this year, we visited her as we prepared to leave for Michigan. After we headed west in the car, my cell phone rang and she said, “I want you to get one of those things you put in your ear so you can talk on the phone while you’re in the car.” I asked her, “Do you mean a Bluetooth?” “Yes,” she said, “whatever it’s called. Do you mind still having your mother tell you what to do?” I quickly replied, “I love it!” Mom’s life spanned the time of kerosene lamps to Bluetooth.

None of us realize the legacy we leave as we are doing it. We get only glimmers from others of the impact we have had on their lives. God has granted many of us wonderful parents and other persons to help shape our lives. In turn, we leave a legacy for others.

Give thanks for those who have shaped you. Pass on to others the wisdom you have gained, even if they do not appear to appreciate it now. Family and faith are the legacy I have from my mother, and I thank God and her.