Mr. Gingles would mow a big field near the houses into a baseball field for us. We'd round up neighborhood kids and get a game going. He was also the Post Master and I remember on at least one occasion checking the mail and his hand bursting through the mail box as I opened it. Mrs. Gingles was always so kind and caring, making sure that we were all taken care of while at her house. I remember her walking me back to my house after a traumatizing go-carting incident that left me with a broken and bleeding finger. They had two kids at that time - Dallas and Dana. The three of us spent many hours together playing and pretending as children that age do. I remember those years as very happy years, but eventually, my dad got another job and we made another stop on our relo list. After my mom passed away, we lost touch with the Gingles. I'd thought of them often over the last 19 years and wondered how they were and what they were all doing.
Over 4th of July weekend this past summer, I got a beautiful surprise. I received a Facebook message from a familiar name asking if I was the Mandy from Coldspring. It was Mrs. Gingles! What fun it was to reconnect and hear all that has happened in their lives over all of these years! Most of the people in my life now didn't know my mom so there isn't a lot of opportunity to talk about her or reminisce about her, but Mrs. Gingles and Dana both had some fun things they remembered about my mom. Mrs. Gingles remembered them talking through her kitchen window for an hour because she didn't have time to come inside (Mom loved to talk), and Dana remembered my mom's usage of rollers and Aquanet (hey, it was the 80's - don't judge!). So sweet to know that my mom was loved by these two.
While chatting online one night, Dana shared with me that her mom had always kept a journal and that she'd found one recently that mentioned my mom. She offered to share the pages that mentioned my mom with me if I was interested. I was excited to say the least. So many things about my mom are a bit of a mystery to me - memories have faded over the years, and well, at 11 you don't really know a lot about your parents. Not things that will matter later on in life, anyway. So, I was looking forward to reading the pages, but really had no idea what to expect. The email arrived one Friday night and actually answered a few questions I'd had but had never asked.
Since becoming a believer a few years ago, I had begun to wonder about my mom's salvation. When she was alive, we never went to church consistently (just Easter, really), never talked about God, or prayed. My mom was a "good person," but I was afraid that she may not have had a relationship with the Lord. There in the journal pages Dana sent, and Mrs. Gingles wrote, was my answer. In the month leading up to my mom's death, the Gingles had come for a visit. On the last day of their visit, Mrs. Gingles shared the Gospel with my mom and through a conversation she had with another family friend at the funeral, she learned that they, to quote the journal, "weren't worried about Pat's (my mom) salvation."
What a beautiful gift from the Lord - He knew that the words Mrs. Gingles wrote on April 15, 1991, the day after my mom's funeral, would bless me beyond measure in 2010. I'm so grateful for these friends, and now sisters in Christ, who were willing to share with me. Words can't express what it has meant to me.
My Momma
Me about to hit my mom with what appears to be the empty gift wrapping tube
