She was perfect! She was my Mom

My Mom, Edwina Margaret (McElroy) Shoemake, was a perfect woman. Oh, I know--none of us are truly perfect. I know the drill. Jesus was the only perfect person who ever walked the earth. Let me say this another way: apart from Jesus Christ, my Mom was the only perfect person I knew until I married Paula Ann Bryan. Then Paula became the second perfect person I have ever known. Like Glenn Beck says: 'Here's how I got there.'...

I want to tell you about my Mom. She spent the best years of her life raising her four children. We didn't have a lot of money, and Mom always put her kids first. She made sure we got new clothes, year after year when she rarely ever had anything nice to wear. She was always cooking --- man, could she cook. Maybe that's why most of her kids (okay, all four of us!) in our adult years looked like we were 'ready for market'. Our home always had the aroma of wonderful food -- and Mom could make the most wonderful desserts. Whenever people would come to our home, whether they were invited or not, Mom would serve food. She was so hospitable. People loved my Mom. She was always so happy, so cheerful, so optimistic. She was the ultimate 'glass half full' person!

In my entire life, I never heard my Mom ever say anything hurtful about anyone. I never saw her get angry and act in an inappropriate way. I never saw an act of selfishness on her part. I never saw a chink in her armor. Dad had a lot of flaws, as did all of their children. Mom, however, had NO discernible flaws. I always saw a lovely woman who devoted her entire life to other people. She was always sewing, cleaning, cooking, growing beautiful flowers -- making our home a wonderful place to be. She read to all of us when we were little -- books with illustrated Bible stories. She made sure we were always dressed in clean, nice clothes. The only words that came from her mouth were good things. Words to live by. She made sure we were at the church building every time the doors were open. She made sure that we spent time with people she approved of, and that we were involved with activities that were appropriate.

Mom was never part of the 'elite' at churches we attended. People thought well of Mom, but she never had time for the luncheons that a lot of the ladies enjoyed. Mom was always home, 'batting 'em back' as she used to say. That was a baseball term. Whatever life throws at you, you plant your feet and bat 'em back! Life was hard for my Mom, in a lot of ways. She wasn't treated like a Queen should be treated.

Because her back was always up against the wall, raising kids and then grandbabies, sometimes Mom couldn't go to Ladies Bible Class. On one occasion, one of the ladies at church, who was well-heeled and had a pretty comfortable life, and who had no children, chided Mom for having missed Ladies Bible Class. When she left our home, Mom simply said to us: "Shoot, I'd rather SEE a sermon than HEAR one...ANYDAY!" Then she went back to work, cooking, ironing and cleaning.... I still remember those words when I think of the difference between 'doers' and 'observers'. Mom was a 'DOER' and counted taking care of others as having a higher value than constantly trooping to a church building to sit in a chair and listen to others TALK ABOUT 'DOING'.


When all four of us were raised, marriages with a couple of the kids in our family did not work out, and Mom got to help raise another generation of kids in her home. She did so without complaint, and lavished the same love and attention on them that she did on her own children.

Later on, Mom's own Mom and her Mother-in-law (my two grandmothers), who were, by then in their '90s, needed special care. Mom brought them into her home and cared for them. During that time, my Dad had a number of strokes, and was confined to a wheelchair in their home. Mom was taking care of three invalids, and would not accept any help from anyone. When we would ask Mom she would simply say: 'No sir, this is MY honor, and MY duty.' It got to a point when Mom was having to feed all three of them. She bathed and dressed them. She refused to allow any of them to move to a 'retirement home.' Mom wanted them there in her home where she could provide for them, cook for them, spend time with them. The grandmothers lived to be almost 102 before they passed. Dad died August 1, 1998. After Dad was gone, Mom had no reason to keep going, and her mind began to slip. Mom lost 40 pounds, and lost interest in eating.

We brought Mom to Edmond, from Dallas, where she had lived for most of her adult life. Mom developed dementia, and her doctors were fairly certain that she had something they termed 'rapid onset Alzheimers.' The doctors told us that Mom could not live with us. We had Mom for another 4 1/2 years before we lost Mom. She spent her sweet life going about, always quietly doing the right thing. Mom was never a public figure, never had a career, never made the headlines, was not 'published'. The world never took note of her presence among us, or made any comment about her passing, but, I took note. My wife and kids took note. She was a treasure, in human form. I loved this little woman who took the words of Jesus Christ to heart. She truly lived for others. She lived her life in such a way that THE USE OF HER LIFE OUTLIVED HER LIFE! I want to be like that. I'll have more to share with you about Mom in the days ahead. I want you to know her too!

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Through my blog, I will introduce you to one of the most remarkable people who ever lived...my Mom. Then I want to introduce you to the only other person I've ever known who is, after 36 years of marriage, flawless in my eyes....Paula Ann! Our God must have known I needed a lot of help. He put two perfect women in my life! Thank you, Jesus!