Susan. Hazel. Estelle. Theresa. Jane. Pam. June. These are the names of the most influential women in my life. They have each impacted my life in profound ways. As I grow as a woman, a wife and a mother, I think on the lessons they have taught me. I've gleaned wisdom from their lives. My heart is open and my spirit is teachable. We have laughed together, cried together, prayed together and some of us have come to blows with each other.
Susan. The woman who gave me life. She was the first voice I ever heard. The one who taught me about Jesus. She taught me to sing. I get my singing voice from her. She has a quiet strength. We are so much alike and yet so different. There are a million wonderful characteristics that I love about my mother. As I have embraced motherhood, I have also embraced those parts of my personality that remind me of her.
Hazel. The gentle matriarch of the Ferrell-Dean's. She taught me to spell my name: A-N-E-L-G-A. (Well, that's how I spelled it for a long time.) She was imperfect, but overwhelmingly, beautifully redeemed. She died just days after my sixth birthday. She was my first experience with death. I cannot remember her voice, but I remember her hugs. I remember spending the night with her and Grandaddy and needing to take a bath. I didn't want to get in the tub by myself. In typical Grandma fashion, she got in with me...with her clothes...and her socks on! That is the sweetest, most vivid memory I have of her.
Estelle. My great-aunt. Grandma's sister. She was a thin woman with a high-pitched, mousey voice. She became our surrogate grandmother when Grandmama passed away. She lovingly stepped in to help my mother with her brand new baby boy and two daughters. We affectionately called her "Grandma Estelle." We needed her. Estelle taught us to wash dishes and do laundry; to be a helper. She was like our own Mary Poppins. One of my fondest memories of her is when she and Mom gave me a perm. They laughed. I cried. Grandmama would have laughed, too.
Theresa. My precious aunt; my mom's sister-in-love. She is a gentle and quiet spirit. Her heart is after God. I always know that I can count on her to pray for me. There was one time I drove all the way to her home in South Georgia---by myself, without a cell phone---just to have her lay hands on me and pray. I needed wisdom. I needed a smack in the head! And, she gave it to me. I am forever grateful.
Jane. My spiritual mom and friend. She ministers peace to me. My voice of reason when I am so overwhelmed that I cannot hear the Holy Spirit myself. She is gentle and kind. She covers and protects. She is also stubborn in her faith. Her stubborn faith has produced miracles. She taught me how to pray the Word. I love her dearly.
Pam. My mother-in-love. She and I have not always seen eye-to-eye. She is very opinionated. As. Am. I. That lends to some interesting family dinners. But, I have grown to embrace the things that she and I have in common: we both love Jesus, Shawn and Sadie. Everything else is trivial. She is a strong woman. She has endured much. She has been through the fire. And, she has come out on the other side not even smelling like smoke. She carries herself with grace and dignity. I love her. I am thankful that she loves me.
And, last, but certainly not least...June. My pastor's wife. A strong woman of God. She has prayed me through the darkest hours of my life. She has also rejoiced with me in the most glorious of times. She is funny. She is compassionate. Her stories of when she was younger remind me so much of myself. We have kindred spirits. She has taught me that my best days are always ahead of me, but to enjoy the present and learn from it. Lord! I want to be like her when I grow up!
