Ms. Geneva A

My hero is my ex-mother-in-law. Her faith in the Lord is astounding and her resolve to overcome is amazing. Mrs. A, as we like to call her, is now almost 90 years old. She still lives alone, drives to the grocery, etc. and takes care of herself. But her story began years and years ago. In fact, I don't know of the hardships she faced in her early years, but I know her family was not "well-off" and her home was in the financially strapped Mississippi Delta. What I do know of her was that she married a soldier, had two children, then he died though I'm not sure of what. She met and married another man, had one child, then the marriage didn't work out and she moved on, raising and providing for her children alone. Her third marriage was to a man who was a womanizer, an alcoholic and an abusive husband. He didn't help much to provide for her children, so she worked and he finally left her alone with two more children. So 5 children and no one to help. She raised those children and did a good job of it. When her youngest two became teens, she went back to school at the age of 55. She acquired her LPN license and became a remarkable nurse. This is when I met her and when I felt I was in the presence of an angel when I was around her. Then her troubles really started. Her youngest son, at the age of 19, had a motorcycle wreck, lived one week, and died. But she had to go on. And her faith went with her. Her second youngest son became an alcoholic and an abuser as was his father. She helped him over the years as best she could, constantly praying, until his way of life landed him in prison for many years. Throughout those years she visited each visiting day until her age hampered her ability to go. She still keeps money on his card at the correctional facility and she goes when she is able. While he has been in prison, she has lost another son, her oldest, and I believe, if there was one, her dearest. She lost him to liver cancer caused by excessive drinking. He died in her house, in the bedroom floor, in her arms. They were alone. As she wrestled with moving through this new horror, her grandson, whose Dad had passed away, committed suicide at a young age. After losing him, she found out her only daughter has cancer and is battling it each day as we speak.
This is her story as I know it. I don't know her as well as some people. But I do know her well enough to talk to her occasionally and marvel at her love for the Lord and her persistence to get to Heaven. If anyone is going to be there, she is. So that's my story of my hero. When I was married to her son, we had our differences. But I've never met a more inspiring person. Actually, she is the reason I went back to school and acquired my AD in Criminal Justice. My love, respect and admiration for my mother-in-law and hero is great. I thank God that I've been blessed to know her and her incredible strength and faith in Him.

Submitted by Anonymous


Strength
Pass It On®
Pass It On®

  email

Your Comments

Here are some other inspiring stories you might like.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
LORI R. In 2012 Lori, along with her then high school age daughter Shira, began to keep their vehicle filled with pet supplies to hand out to the pets living on the streets of Riverside, CA with their homeless companions. They would give out pet food, leashes, collars and water so the pets would be fed well and kept...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS
Read Story
HELPING OTHERS
SAWYER A. After learning about children and families in the poverty-stricken villages of Zambia; a country in south-central Africa, Sawyer Anderson wanted to help bring clean, safe water to the villagers. At age 9, Sawyer wrote and illustrated the book, Water Works, which is published in America, Vietnam (in Vietnamese)...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS
Read Story
COMPASSION
ALWAYS STRIVE TO SHOW AND GIVE COMPASSION. ESPECIALLY TO THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN SHOWN NONE. My entire life, I had to work, and work hard to avoid being the brunt of rude and Difficult bullying. Even from home, even from my Own Mother. Even at 63, I'm still spurned by my blood Family. It's Sad to Hurt a Child so badly that they have a hard time forgetting the Same Family, and School bullying. Especially...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS
Read Story
CARING
TISH R My former wife is an amazing individual. She works as a behavior analyst, and has been helping injured others achieve a much greater quality of life. In one of my proudest specific memories, she facilitated a transition for a man who was in an ALF, brain-injured, from wearing diapers in a wheelchair to...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS
Read Story
BEING THERE
BK SAINI SAINI My husband helped me since he knew me since 1975. He is there for me every single day. He is so kind all the time. He took care of me during any need except not when he is at the job. He comes at home if any emergency arrives. For God’s grace he was never called till today. I still remember when our second baby...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS
Read Story
KINDNESS
MOTHER TERESA Mother Teresa was born in Albania and left her home country very early in life. She lived in Ireland to learn English, and ultimately went to India where she resided until her death. She was a beacon of hope for many. She did not look to caste, class, religion, skin color, or any other identity to separate...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS
Read Story
STRENGTH
ANDRE D On May 2, 2014 Andre' MY HUSBAND at the age of 42 suffered a massive heart attack, he was without oxygen to his brain for several minutes. It caused an Anoxic Brain Injury and other problems such as cortical blindness, seizures and he is bedridden for the rest of his life and resides in a nursing home. The...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS
Read Story
MENTORING
MISTY WELLS 5 Years ago Misty saw a need in children in Foster Care and she took action. For the past 5 years going strong Misty started a non profit called " A Reel Future" where she takes children in Group Foster Care fishing. She has single handed taken over 3,000 foster children fishing. She is showing them...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS
Read Story
FAMILY
PAT C Next to his faith in God, the most important thing in my Dad’s life was his family; my Mom who was the love of his life, his kids, grandkids, great grandkids, brothers, and sisters. One of the ways he made life better for all of us and left his fingerprint on our lives was through the use of what I like to call...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS
Read Story
COMPASSION
CHARLIE SCHULZ My son, Charlie, was an inspiration to many during his 19 years on this earth. When Charlie was in 5th grade, despite what we learned later was severe social anxiety, their strong sense of what was right led them to circulate petitions among their 5th grade schoolmates and write and present a statement (through...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS
Read Story
CARING
BETTY DRUCK I want to tell you about my grandmother,she is in her late 50's,she has spent everyday of her life caring for everyone she meets.She has had multiple surgeries and other problems of her own and yet she has given everything for her family,she has spent every christmas with my dad,even when she was in other...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS
Read Story
PEACE
DANA W Grieving (Fly High Dana Wilson Jr.) On March 7, 2022 my only little brother passed away at home in his bed. This has been one of the hardest things to deal with. I dont think a day goes by that i dont find myself breaking down crying. I think my eyes are puffy did alot of crying yesterday..omg this is really...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS
Read Story
BRAVERY
HARRIET TUBMAN Harriet Tubman freed 300 slaves she was so brave that is why she is my hero
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS
Read Story
WISDOM
JAHSEH O There are many heros I look up to, but Jahseh Onfroy helped me through the darkest times in my life. His music did not only help me but it helped countless people. When he spoke to us, it was always about growing and becoming better than what we are. I have learned many valuable lessons from him, and I constantly...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS
Read Story
KINDNESS
WENDY T Wendy was my wife of 4 years. We dated in high school, over 30 years ago. Eight years ago, we reconnected, and fell in love all over again. I quickly became attuned to why she was so special: Her kindness. I had never met anyone before, who showed as much kindness to everybody, as Wendy had. It wasn't one...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS
Read Story
LOVE
AMARA OKEKE My hero is my late mother Since 2000, she fells sick. She was diabetic, all my life I have taken care of her , I abandoned my school, my Visa and career to taken care of her , after 19 years of my sufferings she died last two Saturdays..I was actually 6 years when I started cooking, doing house chores for my...
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS
Read Story
Where did your values come from?

We've all had people in our lives who have made a positive impact on us. A parent or grandparent, a sibling who was there for us, or maybe even just a guy who shines shoes for a living? Whoever they are, tell us their story so they can inspire us even more.

Tell Us Your Story All Everyday Hero Stories