Mary Louise Kenyon

My mom:
– Before me, I heard my mom was hard to get, but my father finally talked her into the plan that would create all this family.
– After I came into being, the first story I remember about my mom was she saved my life. You see my brother Tom had different plans about our family…. I was a baby and Tom was about to eliminate me with a butcher knife before mom saved me.
– My mother must have been a financial genius as we grew up and lived on a small income. Somehow we always had lots of good food and deserts. Although, I remember a few burnt offerings if the soaps were to good. Somehow, she saved all year and we went on a nice 2-week vacation in the camper.
– I remember mom telling us a story, later in life, how she saved up money to get through her maternity time with a child and got all the bills paid so my dad could easily just pay any minor bills while she was giving birth. Well, Dad saw money in the checkbook and bought him a nice fishing boat and motor while she was in the hospital. She was way less than impressed by Dad’s financial skills and she put him on a small allowance—after about 15 years.
– I must confess, we weren’t the best children to raise, and my mother was a far better mother than we were children. I caught a lot of things that mom excelled at during her life, and most of the realization came after maturing.
– When dad was home, there was always a formal family meal. When Dad was working we had good stuff—coco and toast, cornbread with milk and sugar, candy sandwiches, etc.
– There are some things about my mom that just stays with a son: she cried when I quit the HS band (and never missed a concert) and she cried when she dropped me off for the bus to go in the Air Force.
– There is one thing we never doubted: My mom loved my dad and she was absolutely committed to him. She was always snuggled close to him on the couch or in the car. Never missed a goodbye kiss and hug. I will never forget her saying goodbye to him nearly 20 years ago as she almost climbed into the casket and nearly tipped it over kissing him goodbye.
– We never thought she would survive long after dad, but she somehow pressed on. I truly believe it was her love for family, her relationships with her children, grandchildren, and her Savior that got her through.
– She loved to travel and if you were inviting her she was packing and willing to go. If family was getting together, she was all in—cooking, baking, she would be ready! If you were doing anything and she was able to help with or watch, you could count on her.
– I want to finally tell you, it would have been easy for her to get soaked up in our world of selfishness and hate for the past 84 years and miss the greatest prize of a lifetime, but she didn’t. At a specific time in her life, she admitted to God she was unworthy of salvation and forgiveness, she believed on Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior and she followed Him wherever He led her she served Him (and still had fun in life).
– So now the real her is not here. Her old body is going to further deteriorate, but she is in heaven where there is no pain, no crying, no worries, and no sin. She is with a bunch of her favorite people from earth (including Dad) and Almighty God, who has the power to get us all home with her and Him.