In Memory of Your Grandmother, Mrs. Odell Lee

“Have You not made a hedge about his and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. “   (Job 1:10 NASB)

Dear John and Aaron,

I am very sorry to hear about the death of your grandmother, Mrs. Lee. I so wish you had been able to spend more time with her.  Last night, I was thinking about my first encounters with Ms. Lee, Deek, and Statesboro, GA. Even though I was raised in Kinloch, MO, a small, all-black city outside of St. Louis, I wasn’t familiar with the south and farm life. Ms. Lee and Deek introduced me to slopping pigs, bar b que goat, coon, picking peas, jelly cake, and eating rice at every meal, as well as, eating your largest meal at noon. Now, you know I didn’t eat any goat or coon! I can see both your grandparents now laughing at my reaction to those things. The jelly cake…well you know I would always look forward to having a piece of jelly cake when I reached Statesboro.

 One day Ms. Lee really had me puzzled. You know your grandmother was always so busy running from the store to house all day long. This day she was talking about going to “a planting”. I thought she was going to the farm to plant something: peas, beans, tomatoes, something. She never left to go to the farm, but she continued to talk about this “planting”. As the day grew old, now she was coming through the house talking about she was going to be late for the “planting”. She rushed into her room to get ready to go. She appeared back into the living room dressed up. Yes, dressed in all white, Now, I was ready curious, more like confused. I knew that she wasn’t going to the farm to plant anything all dressed up in white! So I had to ask just where are you going. What is a “planting”? It turned out that a “planting” was a funeral.

 I can see Ms. Lee running from store to the house. She was such a beautiful lady and hard worker. She was always moving. I never heard her complain about anything. She always welcomed me and told me she had us in her prayers. That’s what I always admired about her… she loved her family and most of all she loved God. When you got to Statesboro, you knew you were going to church and it may have been more than once a week when you found yourself in church.

Let me go back to that “planting” but in relationship to Mrs. Lee and your family. You know the definition of planting is - placing (a seed, bulb, or plant) in the ground so that it can grow). I’m not a farm girl, but I do know the roots of a plant anchors the plant’s body to the ground and support it. It stores food, water, and nutrients for the plant. They’re the lifeline of the plant. The bigger and healthier the root system, the bigger and healthier the plant will get before harvest time. Yeah, I googled that…  LOL... I could not have said it any better.

Your grandmother “planted” a seed for you and your entire family with her prayers and faithfulness to God… “Have You not made a hedge about his and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. “   (Job 1:10 NASB) entered my spirit. I don’t know if you know the story of Job. I hope you’re curious enough to find and read it on your own. Job was a faithful servant of God. Job loved God, praised Him, and thanked Him every day. Job obeyed God at all times and was blessed by God for it.

The enemy of God, Satan, is an evil spirit who is continually seeking to distress, to lead astray, if possible destroy those who love God. We are in Satan’s reach while we are here on Earth.  (2 Corinthians 4:4) says, “The god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” This is why Mrs. Lee put The Lord first and prayed for her family. Through her prayers the Lord has built a hedge around you guys for many years. If you don’t know, a hedge is a fence or boundary formed by closely growing bushes or shrubs. So, what am I saying? Let me expound again!  Her prayers have created a protective defense against Satan around her entire family and, we must continue to prune and nurture that hedge around the family. You have families of your own and you want them safe, as well as, wanting the best for them in any endeavor they may encounter.   

This story of Job is even deeper than that. Satan was on Earth doing what he does best. Need I say what that is? “… roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” (Job 1:7) Satan’s restlessness!  It was God that said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on Earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil’” ( Job 1:8) Satan said, “Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. “   (Job 1:10 NASB) God told Satan that everything Job had “was in his power, but do not put forth your hand on him.”  God gave Satan permission to test Job’s faithfulness. As a result, Job lost everything his livestock, servants, house, sons, and daughters. God purposely allowed the hedge over Job, His beloved, faithful servant, to be opened to Satan. What did Job do?  He tore off his robe, shaved his head, and still fell on the ground and worshiped. He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.  Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Job did not sin nor did he blame God. Finally, Job was restored back to health, wealth, family and above all right relationship with God.

This story of Job it is hard to wrap your mind around the fact that Satan was acting on God’s behalf. God told Satan to do this to Job. What is this saying to us? IT IS GOD WHO IS ULTIMATELY IN CONTROL. The Devil, Satan, Lucifer wasn’t in control of anything.  God directs the affairs of the world!

So, why do we suffer? You cannot go through life without some trials and tribulations. It is a process that one must go through to walk with the Lord. And again I say, God was testing Job’s faith and because he remained faithful in the most difficult of circumstances those worldly needs were given back to him more abundantly…” The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold." (Job 42:10) We don’t think like God and don’t understand why God does what He does.  I know that sometimes God causes good things to happen from our tragedies… “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)  When you think of God’s promises to his followers…in comparison to our sufferings, those sufferings become so minor.

I don’t mean to be long winded but … well… maybe I do. LOL To me, Mrs. Lee was a modern day Job. She planted seeds of prayer around her family building that protective hedge from the Lord around her family. Her spiritually intimate relationship with God protected the family and allowed her the strength to withstand any hardships from the results of some of us stepping outside that hedge of protection. Oh yeah…now I’m about to get on another subject. LOL Just know, we can always step back into the protective hedge that your grandmother has nurtured for us through her prayers by being obedient to the Lord.

 I’m wondering how many souls Mrs. Lee must have ushered into those “pearly gates.” Mary Baxter wrote in her book, A Divine Revelation of Heaven, “The magnificent gates that stood before me in splendor were made of solid pearl.” (Revelation 21:21) “And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.”

 As we usher her into her final resting place, I know she will be welcomed by a host of friends and relatives.  Even my relatives that have passed on will be there to greet Ms. Lee because she surrounded me in that hedge of prayer. The Bible refers to this host of friends and family as “a cloud of witness.” in (Hebrews 12:1) Mrs. Lee was a praying mother. She lived a fruitfully long and blessed life. I pray that if you have learned anything from your grandmother it is the power of prayer and the power of your walk with THE LORD.

                                                                                                With all my love and sincere sympathy,

                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                Momma

                                                                                               

Written by: Nola Lee, May 2017