Mama Wishard, Making a positive Impact

My mama Wishard, my dad’s mother.

I remember her being one of the most cherished members of the congregation I grew up in. The congregation was filled with her children and their spouses and their kids, my cousins. In addition there were several of her nephews and nieces who attended along with several others from the community. The reality was that that congregation that had about 40-50 in attendance then in 1946 still has about 40-50 in attendance today. They worshipped Jesus Christ then and now.

Now there have been changes. A new building built in 1981. The building has had several updates through the years. Air conditioning. Indoor plumbing. A lovely space for meals and receptions for celebrations or grieving over loss. Padded pews and cooling fans. A microphone system for the hearing and for the hard of hearing.

What is consistent is the attitude that Mama Wishard wanted all of us to learn. The mind of Jesus Christ.

I counted up 150 of her kids, grandkids, great grandkids and great great grandkids in my mind this morning. Most of these are followers of Jesus Christ today. I suspect when she was baptized and a young woman the preacher doing the baptism didn’t think that was a big deal among the people whom he had baptized into Jesus Christ.

The reality is that these 150 kids have been involved in all kinds of careers where thousands of other people have been affected. Superintendents, principals, teachers, nurses, ministers, accountants, farmers, salesmen, computer engineers and other careers. have come from this group. To my way of seeing things, the name Wishard is one that in our churches and towns is a positive name generally. I have heard some say the Wishards are a little bit to sold on themselves. Guilty as charged at least for one, me.

I know that the name is attached to at least one person, myself, who is a mess. A big mess. A difficult person to live with. Yes, a selfish, rebellious sinful, person but saved by the mercy and grace of God.

But I have not had anything happen to me in 70 years of life to make me ashamed of wearing mama Wishard’s name. Nothing.

That in itself is amazing. Now if you ask most of the people that carry that last name they will tell you that the Wishard’s have problems. Pride, arrogance, think their smarter than anyone and downright conceit at times. These things are not good and we need to change and get better at these. But on the other hand the kids, grandkids of mama Wishard took on some of her traits that are good to help build a family.

The ability to keep going when things go badly.

The power to care for each other when someone goes down spiritually or physically.

The desire to please God.

Hope in God that things will get better.

Belief in prayer to God for help.

Putting work before pleasure. Speaking for the hard working people and speaking clearly that lazy and slothful will not be tolerated. Speaking up for providing for oneself and leaving the welfare for those that are unable to work. Hard, dirty work from field work to working with messy cows, calves and horses meant filthy and smelly jobs were not above any of her family. Work was always from 50-80+ hours per week.

Single parents can make a powerful and positive impact on their children. She was a young widow. She had daughters who were single mothers and they never gave up on the work of raising healthy young men and women.

A belief that raising sons and daughters is best when you have a mommy and a daddy who love God to help train them. We have been fortunate to have the Wishard name linked with Land, Cunninham, Smith, Milton, Fink, Woods, Phillips, Thompson and many others. These have been willing to link up and build up our circle of family and friends. I have about 100 cousins out of this bunch that I enjoy seeing at family reunion times as I did this past May 6 and I love and cherish them all.

A belief that moms and dads are in charge of the home, not the kids. She managed to train all them to be managers of their homes and jobs so that the adults were in charge. Period.

A belief in education that is full of truth and practicality instead of nonsense. Most of the grandkids have a college degree and some have their Masters and Doctors degree. But the idea from mama Wishard is that if your education causes you to not need God in your life that is not a good education.

Happy Mothers Day to all the Mothers associated with the kids and grandkids of Mama Wishard

Larry Wishard

5.14.17

1 Timothy 5.

1 Timothy 5.

³ Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. ⁴ But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. ⁵ The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. ⁶ But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. ⁷ Give the people these instructions, so that no one may be open to blame. ⁸ Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
⁹ No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, ¹⁰ and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the Lord’s people, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.
¹¹ As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list. For when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry. ¹² Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge. ¹³ Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also busybodies who talk nonsense, saying things they ought not to. ¹⁴ So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander. ¹⁵ Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan.
¹⁶ If any woman who is a believer has widows in her care, she should continue to help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need.
¹⁷ The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. ¹⁸ For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,”^[a] and “The worker deserves his wages.”^{[b] 19} Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. ²⁰ But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning. ²¹ I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.
²² Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
²³ Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.
²⁴ The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. ²⁵ In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden forever.