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Amazing Faith
Mary and Medford Jones were righteous people and their
religious insight was straightforward. It was amazing faith.
It was strong, it was bold, and it was clear. Their gentle
homespun hearts were tied together with an easy thread.
For many years, Medford trawled from doctor to doctor,
seeking help for his arthritic pain. Mr. Jones became the
doctors’ best contradiction as his health spiraled
downwards. The agonizing pain increased and the years passed
to the point that finally one day, the doctors asked him to
stay in bed. The days drifted into months and the months
passed into years. The years grew and time marched on. I
judge it must have been around seventeen years that he lived
in bed. I know it was a long time. He surely must have been
on the rage against death. It was easy to see his future was
a blank. He lay flat on his back day in and day out, his
condition so bad that if he held his hands up his fingers
fell back against the back part of his hand. Yet, even
without the pleasures of air conditioning against summer
heat, Mr. Jones never had a bedsore.
Medford was in need of constant nursing and attention;
however, love and care had not been his cure. Mrs. Jones’
nurturing had only geared herself up for gray hairs. Her
worries carried a high mortgage; love is a great pleasure in
life that brings jolts of pain without any rules. Sometimes
it’s warm and sometimes it’s burning, one never knows what
is in store.
As a little tyke I didn’t understand why Medford had to
suffer so. Not all could weather up to such a storm and
remain so cheerful. My father said many times that Medford
had racked up a fine crop of bills and that his vision never
grew dim until that last dime was paid. Through the years,
they learned to do much with little. Even through all this,
he would lie in bed and whistle one happy tune after
another. There was no television back then, and he couldn’t
hold a newspaper or sit up very well in bed. He was so
cheerful and loved to tell jokes -- he was as happy as any
farmer in tall corn. When the wind blows up the wrongs in
life, it takes a strong person to whistle a merry tune.
Whenever he had to call Mrs. Jones in for something, he
would say, “Oh, Mary dear, ” and for Mr. Jones the bedroom
to the kitchen was a world apart. He personified an
everlasting impression of strength to all who knew him.
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During the 1950’s, it was
unheard of for a working class woman to go to a hair salon
to get her hair washed and set. However, this was one of the
few luxuries that Mrs. Jones had. She always took great
pride in her appearance. As a kid, I heard some unnecessary
and hurtful comments from other ladies about how this was
too extravagant. There were many quick judgments and
whispers that were carried behind closed doors. I believe
some of these same women would eat their young if they had
half a chance. They say a jealous woman will set her own
house on fire, but I can’t vouch for that. However, I was
greatly impressed that Mrs. Jones took a little time out for
herself.
By the time Mr. Jones’ condition had deteriorated and he
could no longer work on the farm at all, Mrs. Jones had
taken a job as a housekeeper so she could take care of Mr.
Jones at the same time. The love and loss of a spouse is not
always pleasant -- sometimes darkness is felt. But when he
died, she was not the weeping widow one might expect. She
hid in complete composure and a practiced smile. She had
survived the last seventeen years of their turmoil to his
ravishing death. With a passing shiver, I agreed it was a
grateful death. It was a good end; he left a good impression
and made many folks smile. Even the strongest of men are
pulled to the ground when their time comes.
After Mr. Jones died, Mrs. Jones stayed on where she had
been employed as a housekeeper. That only lasted a short
while because her employer had a heart attack and died, so
she was left with no husband, no job and no place to live.
Mrs. Jones came to visit our family and explained to Mom
that she was going to have to move. Mother said, “Mary, what
on earth are you going to do?” Characteristically, with
folded arms and after a long second thought, she leaned back
in the wingback chair in our living room and said, “The Lord
has helped me through unbelievable times, rough times in my
life, and I am sure He will open up doors again!”
She returned to where she had been staying, and knowing she
only had a week remaining to live there, she began packing
up all of her possessions in preparation of moving, but
didn’t know where she would be going. An old acquaintance of
hers had passed the word around. Her situation was a simple
one -- she needed work and a place to live. Then the phone
rang and there was Mr. Jum Wilson calling to see if he could
talk her into keeping house for him. Her honest reply was
that she didn’t approve of drinking, smoking or foul
language. He said that he didn’t do those things and would
pay her generously. What dignity and powerful faith this
lady had! Here she had no place to go and no income, but she
had her values and integrity and she wouldn’t give those up
for anything! She stood strong and solid as Fort Knox.
She worked for Mr. Jum Wilson for less than a year when he
asked her if she would accompany him on a visit to Florida
for a week. Mrs. Jones’ apt reply was, “Why certainly not!
It would not be decent for me to travel like that with a man
and not be married.” Mr. Wilson, a well-to-do gentleman,
immediately asked for her hand in marriage. She graciously
accepted and they went off to Florida. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson
had a happy marriage together for a number of years. He
cared deeply for her and always respected her as a real
lady. The Lord had indeed provided for her. The trudge in
life had cut off her youth after all those years with her
nose to the grindstone, but The Lord had made sure she was
going to have golden years. How incredible to have such
amazing faith!
Jimmy Fox
@ The Legacy of a Country Boy
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