Memories of Mom

"It doesn't matter whether my name is on the membership roll of the church -- the important thing is that my name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life!" --- Substance of Helen (Sedgwick) Harriger's response to her pastor who had told her he could not find her name on the membership roll of the church she had been attending and in which she had become actively involved.

If I detailed all the memories of my mother, it would take a long time and the content would make for a rather large book. So I shall try to keep it sweet, short and simple. Oh, by the way, the picture above is my mother holding me late in the summer of 1933 -- a few moons ago!

My earliest memory goes back to times before I went to school. My mother always had my well being at heart without fail. This involved not just my physical health but also my spiritual well being.

Mom had become a Christian at a very early age in her life and expressed her faith in Jesus Christ in a variety of ways. In her church she was a Sunday School teacher, involved in the ladies missionary group, and taught in annual Bible schools.

She made clear the difference between right and wrong to my sister (born about 6 years after me) and me when it came to our conduct. I remember distinctly one time she had me on her knee and we looked out the window at the neighbor just across the road working a field with his horses. The neighbor was a very profane man and could be heard cursing his horses or whatever -- he constantly was telling God to damn something or someone! Mom pointed out that we had to respect God and never to use His Name in a bad way such as the neighbor had been doing.

She was a disciplinarian -- a paddling was given out for certain offenses on my part and one time it was so serious that she turned me over her knee and used a scrub brush for emphasis -- I did not feel like sitting down for a while! The way things are now days the A.C.L.U. (Anti Christian Lovers of Ungodliness) would have encouraged me to sue my mother in court for child abuse!

Mom did a lot of reading and study and had a teacher's certificate qualifying her to teach in the public schools of our area. She did some substitute teaching occasionally. But her first love was to be a home maker for my dad, my sister and me.

She was an excellent cook and loved working in her kitchen. Her homemade bread along with her homemade butter earned her a noteworthy reputation in our community. But she also was first class when it came to the sweet stuff such as chocolate cake, cinnamon rolls, lemon sponge pie, etc. More than once I downed nearly a quart of our golden Guernsey milk with pieces of warm chocolate cake just out of the oven!

My mother was also a writer of letters (something I guess I inherited from her) and during WW II wrote to quite a number of military persons from our area on a regular basis. One of my dad's cousins was wounded in Sicily twice and one letter she wrote to him was done on shelf paper about 5 feet long or so and she wrote on both sides of it. He had a picture taken with the letter draped around his neck and hanging down over his chest. When I entered the military myself she was always faithful in writing letters to me and a few months later to Jean and me after our marriage and our move to North Carolina when I was stationed at Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station.

In addition to her work in the home she did a lot outside. She had a fair sized garden each year, gathered the eggs from our chicken coop, and helped my dad milk the cows twice a day. Sometimes she engaged in an activity that I did not want to watch. Once in a while she would take a rooster or maybe a hen, tie its legs together, hang it on the clothes line, and then cut off its head with a butcher knife! Her roast chicken was impossible to beat -- it was a bit unpleasant at a certain point in reaching that desired goal!

Mom was always one to give encouragement and support throughout the family. She was the oldest of the six children born to Edward and Estella (Robb) Sedgwick. Her brothers and sisters thought very highly of her and often visited her when they could.

She was very excited the day I revealed to her that God had called me into the ministry. She and my dad made special arrangements to come visit us when we were in Kentucky serving a small church while in seminary. And they were able to come to my graduation from Asbury Seminary. After we returned to Pennsylvania they would visit our church services from time to time.

Perhaps her greatest contribution in life was her discipline of prayer. I do not believe I would be where I am today or would have been involved in God's work as I have been over many years had it not been for a praying mother (and a praying father too).

She came down with cancer and fought a good fight but the disease got the best of her in January of 1979. I remember in the hospital room in Franklin PA when the doctor told us she was gone, the first thought to come into my mind was this: "Not one cancer cell can touch her now -- she is in the presence of her Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ!" She did win the ultimate victory and to that, every obedient Christian can say, "Amen and Amen!"

Because of what Jesus did for us all on Calvary's cross, I have the assurance of seeing my mother again along with a host of other loved ones and friends -- a reunion that will never break up and located in the perfect trouble-free environment -- some of us refer to this blessed place as Heaven!

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. --- 1 Thessalonians 4:13-19

Questions About a Very Distinctive Group of Heaven’s Citizens!

When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" --- The Revelation 6:9, 10

There are a lot of them – all we can say is that there are millions upon millions already there and the number keeps expanding hour by hour!

Who are they? Didn’t you know, or have you never thought about them? These are the ones who were put to death before they were born. Actually they come from many nations around the world, including one which makes the hypocritical claim that all persons should have “the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness!”

What’s that? You object not just to the picture above but also to that quote from the book of The Revelation? Why?

But rest assured – you can be comforted in knowing that the little one above who was the victim of a very deliberate violent act does not look like that now with its head in a "pickle" jar of formaldehyde. We can only let our imagination soar to the highest heights as we attempt to picture what he or she looks like at the present time in the very presence of our Lord Jesus Christ!

And what about the statement mentioning the plea for vengeance? In context, the appeal comes from a rather large number who have been put to death for their faith in Jesus Christ. They are assured that eventually vengeance on their behalf will definitely take place.

However, might that great number whose innocent blood was shed before birth also be seeking that vengeance on their behalf likewise be carried out? God does mention the abomination of the “shedding of innocent blood” more than once in the Scriptures and the fact that He responds to such practices in a way that is far from being pleasant!

Another question or two about this matter – what will go through the minds of certain persons who observe this unique group of heavenly citizens as they view them from across a very wide chasm?

First, a history lesson – a rich man died and a beggar by the name of Lazarus who had laid outside the entrance gate of the rich man died at about the same time. In eternity the rich man ended up in the torment of Hell, but could see across a wide chasm and observed Lazarus comforted in the bosom of Abraham. Lazarus was now totally free of all limitations and afflictions of his former earthly life. Complete details and conversation are given in Luke 16.

Now, fast forward in time – what do you suppose will go through the mind of that unrepentant “doctor” who deliberately caused the deaths of a number of those little ones before they were born when he sees them in their perfect bodies in the presence of Jesus Christ?

Likewise, what will go through the mind of that unrepentant “mother” when she looks across that vast chasm and sees that one she chose to have mutilated and murdered, but now is in a glorified body? Or in some cases, some of these “mothers” may see more than one, since it is a matter of record that some females have chosen to have three or even four pregnancies violently “terminated!”

But hold on for a moment – there’s more to this very unpleasant saga – what do you suppose will go through the minds of those unrepentant judges who gaze across the chasm and see that huge number who were prematurely ushered into heaven because of one of the most idiotic and insane decisions ever to take place in a court room – namely, to “legalize” the mass destruction of unborn children!

But we are a nation in a state of tragic denial – even those of us who claim to be “pro-life” aren’t really convinced that there are consequences to decades of the “shedding of innocent blood.”

It may be that if we consider some questions of a different kind and attempt to picture some images in our minds we may just conclude that it is a very serious matter after all, and has a direct bearing on how well a nation fares in regard to its future destiny. We may even be moved to sound a trumpet warning that God always responds to a culture that has made the deadly choice of exterminating a large number of its future citizens!

"Moreover you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore to Me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your acts of harlotry a small matter, that you have slain My children and offered them up to them by causing them to pass through the fire?" --- Ezekiel 16:20, 21

Mother Lets Son's Teeth Rot and Is Given Jail Time, But Certain Murderers Are Never, Ever Charged!

Here's another one for the books! A mother in eastern Pennsylvania was recently sentenced to spend a period of 30 days to 23 months in the Northampton County Prison. And what was her crime? She left her 5-year-old son's teeth rot and 12 of the teeth had to be extracted because they were beyond repair!

The charge was child endangerment to which she pleaded guilty. In addition to the jail time, the mother was sentenced to 3 years probation, do 50 hours of community service, pay a $500 fine, continue mental health treatment and take parenting classes.

A dentist said the boy's teeth had to have been decaying for a period of 2 to 3 years to have reached such an advanced stage which required the dozen teeth to be extracted.

Ah -- a question or two here -- my, aren't we diligent to pick up on those cases which are considered "child endangerment" and the wrath of the law comes down on offenders -- this mother needed to be punished, and maybe that will send a message to others in society -- don't do anything that will endanger our youngsters, right?

Now then, let's drop the other shoe -- how is it that a guy wearing a white coat with his name followed by the initials "M.D." stitched over a pocket can deliberately invade the womb of an expectant mother, and dismember and murder that child within her whom God is forming for a wonderful purpose (see if you can pick up on this in Jeremiah 1:5) and no charges whatsoever are ever brought against that character and others such as he -- you know, these guys in the legalized "butcher shops" where thousands of very young children become victims every week of the year!

Never a charge of "child endangerment" much less premeditated murder is leveled against these people, and yet a mother who lets her son's teeth rot does jail time while "Dr." Somebody (term used loosely) drives his luxury car down the street on his way to do some mutilating and murdering for a few hundred dollars for each victim, adding to his fat bank account!

If you aren't afraid to do so, take a look at some numbers which speak loud and clear about this republic's morally bankrupt condition of the first magnitude -- go to:

A Quick Look at the United States' Massacre Tally!


Information Source on the mother & son: March 12, 2007 edition of the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat