Endurance

Donna Jeanne Mann was born to Archie and Rachel Shade September 7, 1931, the youngest of five children. Her mother was 42 and her father was 55 when she was born. She married Richard Mann on October 8, 1954, and together they had four children: Deborah Lynn, Kathy Denise, Timothy Lee, and Tamera Kristine; three grandchildren: Christopher Steven, Lisa Michele, and Thomas Patrick; and two great-grandchildren: Connor Steven and Katelyn Nicole. She accepted Christ as her Savior at a young age.
She departed this world August 28, 2009, just 10 days short of her 78th birthday, with her family by her side.
When I was thinking about my mother, and trying to sum up her life, God gave me this word – “endurance.” We sometimes think of endurance as being defined as the ability to withstand a hardship, and that she did. As a child of the Depression, Mom endured the struggles and difficulty of not always having enough. As the youngest child of already aged parents, she accepted the responsibility of caring for them in their final, not days, but years. She endured the pain of seeing not only her parents and siblings precede her in death, but also the loss of two children, Debbie, who was stillborn, and Tim, whose life was tragically taken from him much too soon. And through this disease, she endured the loss of her ability to walk and her independence, relying on her family to care for her every need.
But endurance is also defined as the ability to sustain for the duration, or permanence. In spite of circumstances and the changing world around them where many would simply walk away and give up, my parents’ marriage endured for almost 55 years. My mother was a prayer warrior, and we, her children, know only too well the reasons she needed to pray for us – and she did, always. And what is most enduring is her faith in God and the love she had for her family, and even though she’s gone from this earth, that love will live on in each of us. She spent her last week trying to make sure we had enough hugs and kisses to last a lifetime.
In Hebrews 12:1-2, the apostle Paul writes, “ 1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Mom has not only endured, but she has finished her race, and she has won. She is healed, she is walking on her own, and she is reunited with many of her loved ones. While it’s hard for us to say good-bye to her for now, we know – WE KNOW – that she is with Jesus, her Savior, and we will see her again.
Eleven years ago I gave my mother a gift, but I asked that she give it back to me, and she did. It was a book of questions that we should ask our loved ones before they’re gone, so I’ll close with Mom’s own words:
“We are blessed. We have a beautiful home and are financially secure. Two beautiful daughters, a son, and great grand-kids. God is in control, and who could ask for anything more? I love you all very much. Mom”