Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 This podcast is created by Dr. Alfonzo Brown and as a product of guiding life ministries.org. That's guiding life ministries.org. Hello, beloved. Thank you for listening today. Do you know something? If you asked yourself, what do the greatest civilizations of the past Martin Luther King Mahatma Gandhi, and other great leaders of the world have in common? I can tell you they have the same thing that all individuals born on this earth, having common, all creatures great and small came from their mothers.
Speaker 1 00:00:49 My mother was blessed with a gift that God first bestowed upon him, the ability to carry life and to give birth to life. And as such all great civilizations on this earth had their initial derivatives men and women in a mother today is a special day because it is the day of my mother's birth. And I'd like to honor. My mother is truly a special person, just like my father. Who's blessed me tremendously and made me the man that I am today. So this special podcast today we'll touch upon the blessing that she's been in my life and provide some insight into how, when God blesses you with an amazing mother, you can truly change your life and not only bless your life better, but bless every single individual and circumstance that you come in contact with over the course of your life. Join me today. As I speak and dedicate this special podcast and tribute to my mother on her birthday,
Speaker 0 00:02:25 You're needed and beloved what a wondrous and glorious day is today. Pray, come to you today with a special podcast. Today happens to be my mother's birthday, February 6th. It's a special day for me because my mother is the true biblical representation of what God intended mothers to be in my eyes. My mother is one of the most beautiful women that I've ever met, and it was into my adulthood that I, that the women I've sought out to marry, or I felt attracted to reminded me of her. Not because I have some sort of an edible complex, nothing like that, but only because the beautiful things that I saw in her, the way that she had a natural smile and a warm spirit and her kind heart, these were the things that I cherished and that I carried with me throughout my younger years and into my adult life and the woman who I finally selected to be my wife, that woman had characteristics and features that reminded me of those things that I loved.
Speaker 0 00:03:43 I've been blessed because I have an amazing father whom I love dearly. And dad I'll get to you on your birthday and an amazing mother. And well on this day of her birth, I wanted to try to immortalize what she's done because I believe and still hold dear. But the greatest thing we can do as children is to bless those by leading a life goodness. And the greatest gift we can give our parents is to bless them through our actions and the way we conduct ourselves flooring, honoring our parents. We honor the father, which is why the father tells us to honor our father and our mother. So that may go well with us and that we may have long life. It is the first commandment with promise. Now my mother's name is amazing. Her name is Junie. Now you might say to yourself, well, what's so amazing about that.
Speaker 0 00:04:48 Well, if you read in the word, one of the greatest new Testament scholars and disciples, the apostle Paul wrote to his protege Timothy. And if you remember, Timothy had a grandmother whose name was Lois and a mother whose name was Eunice. Now it didn't strike me. When I learned about this, I noticed that Eunice, um, is very similar to uni. And when I looked up, Eunice, Eunice means joyous victory. She conquers, my mother had a friend who always referred to my mother as Yunus, even though her name was uni. So then I looked at the similarities between the Eunice and my mother uni. If you remember, Paul wrote to Timothy, I reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwells first in your grandmother, Lois, and your mother Eunice. And now I see dwells in you.
Speaker 0 00:05:52 I am not surprised that the blessing of Eunice as described in the Bible is very similar to the blessing that my mother exhibited a woman who had joyous victory and she conquered. Perhaps you can understand a little bit more about what I mean when you learn about how my mother came to the United States, my mother grew up poor. She didn't know her father. And she was raised by my grandparents. She tells me sometimes that my love of God and my spirit came directly from my great-grandfather, who I'd never met, but I know that he loved my mother as did my great-grandmother. My mother said that she longed for the days when she could sit in their father's lap, hug him and kiss him. She longed for that as a little girl, but she didn't let the fact that she didn't grow up with her father, tarnish her or spoil her.
Speaker 0 00:06:52 It gave her determination learning from my great grandparents. My mother excelled in school. She worked hard, even though she didn't have much money. And I think it was during these times that God helped her develop that determination and that courage that she would exhibit all of her life and exhibits to this day. My mother was so smart that she got a scholarship without which she wouldn't have been able to go to school. She studied hard, did well in her subjects and became a teacher. She actually was a certified teacher, announced something else I found out was that she became a playwright as well. She wrote an amazing play a long time ago, and it actually got performed while she was back in Jamaica. The reason why I mentioned this is because today I'm in the process of writing a novel. I have two daughters who were writing novels as well.
Speaker 0 00:07:49 Several individuals in my family, such as my brothers, sisters are writing stories and all of my life. I've been a great storyteller. Again. I think that the genes that existed and the truth that she set forth, the manifested in her children and her children's children after becoming a school teacher, my mother then moved to the United States as an immigrant. She gave up a life in Jamaica. One that could have brought her privileged to come here with relatively nothing alongside my dad and to start a life here. And while she initially got a job here and worked hard, she made a very painful decision early on in life. You see one day after finding that her children, both my older sister and myself were not being appropriately cared for by their babysitter. She said that she'd left food there for us and came back and we hadn't eaten any of the food.
Speaker 0 00:08:48 And we were sitting in soil diapers. Yeah. They were using cloth diapers back. Well, at that time, my mother made a very painful decision. She gave up her career what she had trained for and she stayed home to take care of us. She stayed home to take care of us until much later on in her life, actually until I was a teenager and through my early adult years. So almost 15 years later, she then went back to work. And the work that she did was in other people's houses, she cleaned people's toilets and took care of them. And while some people treated her nicely, sometimes they treated her very poorly. She had people spit in her face and make racist and insulting remarks to her questioning her intelligence. I want this, this myself when times when I would go to visit her, I saw that the way they treated her and the things they would say to her, but through it all, my mother would smile.
Speaker 0 00:09:54 She'd come home late at night, sometimes at midnight. And I remember myself then a 14 year old boy, I would go out one and two in the morning, midnight to go and pick her up and walk her from the train station home, along with my younger brothers, because we wanted her to be safe. And she always would bring things for us. She'd either buy those fresh glazed donuts or some little more slow food. Always for her children, always there for encouragement, always trying to give us the best of whatever she had. You see if my mother had a donut, she'd give you the donut. And she would eat the home. That's the way she was. And she would never sit down or take something for herself without making sure her husband and her children were taken care of. And in all the days of her life there, thankfully, there were only few times I ever saw her weep.
Speaker 0 00:10:52 One time was when my brother died and she cried as any mother who loves their children would cry in the morning. Other times were tears of joy. When I graduated from medical school, when my brothers and sisters graduated from their various jobs or did great things. And today she's happy because she's seen the manifestation of those sacrifices that she made earlier in life. My mother is a beautiful person and Proverbs 31 and 25. It says she opens her mouth wisdom. The teaching of kindness is on her tongue. My mother's taught me, I guess those days as a teacher impressed me and my sister and my brothers, my children, because we're all teachers today. My sister is a certified teacher in New York. I'm a teacher at school at Harvard medical school and my siblings, my children, and all
Speaker 1 00:11:54 Of our family. I've continued to grow this amazing gift. My mother has the most beautiful smile. And as they are 49 and 15, it says she is closed with strength and dignity. She can laugh at the days. My mother laughs and smiles with the dignity of a queen. She's always worn her hair short and natural. She's never straightened it. And for those sisters who straighten their hair, not saying there's anything wrong with that. But she taught me about natural beauty because she's had it all her life. She's always had this little patch of gray right in the middle, even when she was young. But Oh my gosh, she was a goddess then. And as a goddess now, and the beauty that's inside has never faded. When you see it, when you see the vision of it in her smile and the pictures, she always looks just as young as I guess she must've looked when she was a teenager, a little girl, you see, my mother taught me something else. She taught me that true. Beauty is a manifestation in your face, in your features of what is actually inside of you. So she doesn't need makeup. She doesn't need any special accoutrements because she's naturally beautiful. And she taught me what natural beauty looks like. So now when I see it in my children, my wife and friends, I know and can recognize it because it came from her.
Speaker 1 00:13:31 My mother has accomplished so much in her life. She's been a teacher, a mother, a grandmother, a wife, you know, once she was even the president of the PTA. When I was in headstart, she told me this she's honest, proud, beautiful woman. So I'm Proverbs 31, 28 and 29. It says her children rise up and call her blessed, her husband. He praises her many women have done excellently, but you and my mother you've surpassed them all. And my mother is an amazing person. And so as one of her children, I say this to her and probably 31 and 31, it says honor her for all she has done and let her works. Bring praise at the city. Gates, dear mom, on this, your birthday, I honor you for all that you've done in my life. I've touched thousands of people, but I can tell you this. I wouldn't have been here without you. You and my father gave me life for that. I can never repay. All we can do is try me and my siblings, our children, and our children's children. All we can do is try to bless you by living our lives. And it would make you proud and honor as your you're sacrificing your legacy. Dear mom, we will be your vision into the future. You will live forever in us, just like our ancestors did and have done.
Speaker 1 00:15:22 I love you with all my heart. You are. God's manifestation of my caretaker here and a direct extension of him. And when I look into your eyes and the eyes of my father in both of my parents, I see the love of God. Thank you for calling me to term. Thank you for giving me your wisdom, your strength, and all that you provided so that I could be the man that I am today. And thank you because we don't get to choose our parents. Thank you for choosing to have me. And thank you for wanting to God here for showing me in this life that God blessed me to win. One of the greatest lotteries of life. And that is to have two parents, especially my mother who loves me like no other mom, I'll end it with this. I know you told me once that when you went to Jamaica, the last time you had the jacket that I gave you, because you were cold and how you cuddled that jacket and spools would squeeze it and hold it next to you because my scent was on the jacket and it reminded me of your son.
Speaker 1 00:16:40 And as I speak to you now, and the pandemic has kept us apart on this, the day of your birth, I want to tell you that I love you. I'm sorry that I can't be there with you today, but I wanted to create this podcast because this message will go out and out, live a song. And it's a dedication of a son to the woman whom he loves. I will love forever. Thank you for being a woman of purity of grace and of love. And thank you for showing me what I should look for in a mother, a woman, and a friend for your son, Scott. I want to thank you for the opportunity to say these words to my mother. Bless it. As she among women, Oh God, I pray all the days of my life, but I will honor her and do those things that you'll have me do as a child of your grace. I thank you all Lord, for this opportunity to thank her again on the day of her birth,
Speaker 0 00:17:51 Please bless her. As you continue to do every day in the mighty name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, your son and in the mighty name of your spirit of God, my father, I give thanks. Thank you for listening today to this episode of life's lessons and God's word. If you like, what you heard, please visit our website at guiding life ministries that org that's guiding lives, ministries.org on our website. You can find a link to this podcast and our other podcasts. And if you like what you hear when you listen to this podcast, please feel free to subscribe on any of the podcasts stations, where you listen to your podcasts at guiding lights, ministries.org. Our job is to spread the word of the love of Christ through his lessons. And your support helps us to bring beautiful, loving contents then to bring the word of God until we speak again. Beloved brothers and sisters, may God bless you and peace be with you always. This is Dr. Alfonzo, Brown love, peace and happiness. And man.
