In the '60s there was a movie entitled “The Day After.”

It was produced in the time frame when America was very much involved in the Cold War and the realities of possible nuclear annihilation of life as we knew it.

We knew that the Soviet Union and her allies had targeted our American cities with nuclear missiles and were awaiting the most opportune time to strike. We knew that their doctrine was steeped in the belief that war with the West was inevitable. These were scary times.

In the movie scenario, it dealt with how life would be for America the “day after” the missiles hit our American cities. The movie was very popular at the time because it was an idea that we knew could very well happen and even could today. (Perish the thought!)

Yesterday we buried my mother at the Holly Hills Cemetery, Fairburn. Today is for me and my family “the day after.”

Mother was born in Neosho, Mo. Aug. 5, 1910. As a child in grade school she moved with her family of four sisters and three brothers to the oil boom town of Okmulgee, Okla. It was here that as a girl of 16 she gloriously accepted Christ as her Savior and decided to serve Him for the rest of her life.

The night she received Christ she went to a revival meeting led by a Bulgarian evangelist who was speaking at the First Baptist Church of Okmulgee. I don't know if the evangelist even remembered this wonderful “divine appointment” that took place that evening, but this 16-year-old teenager, because of that moment in time, changed the world for many people.

Anyone reading this will possibly say that I am saying these things about my mother out of grief or just from my love for her, and I'm sure some of that is true. I also know that what I am about to say about her is very true.

As a pastor of 28 years, I have met a lot of people in God's work and seen and heard a lot of people talk about their faith, but I never met a person who was more totally sold out to Jesus Christ than my mother.

As she got older and began to walk with the aid of a metal walker, she had my wife, Dee, get her a maroon (her favorite color) bag to hang on the side of her walker decorated with a matching bow. This bag contained her salvation tracts and Bibles she would distribute. At times I had to empty it to make it lighter so she could get around better.

I have seen her see someone eating at the Waffle House and get up slowly from her seat and walk, using her walker, over to someone and say to them, “Sir, my spirit tells me that you are a Christian. Is that so?” The responses were amazing. She would then say, “Is there any situation in your life that needs prayer?”

I have seen grown men stand there and wipe their eyes as she would unashamedly pray for them.

Mother was not doing this in a public place to embarrass anyone, although it may have some, but she did it because her “witness” was slowly coming to a close and her mobility was limited. She was just continuing to witness as she had for over 73 years.

As her health started to deteriorate, she had to go on several trips to the hospital and I remember her talking to a nurse in the emergency room at Fayette Community Hospital. This nurse had the midnight shift and, as I called to check on mom, she told me that mom had sung hymns to her all night.

It reminded me of the Apostle Paul and Silas singing while in prison. As her health continued to deteriorate further, she stopped talking altogether and would just moan in alto harmony with the tapes. She had been in church choirs singing alto all her life.

At her funeral six pastors shared their experience of how this woman had touched their lives and the lives of their congregations. There were a total of 10 pastors at her funeral.

At the close of her life, she had carried the cause of Christ to groups on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. She and my father had been voluntary missionaries to Scotland and South Korea.

She had been dean of women of her college and had on several assignments had weekly Christian radio broadcasts.

A saint of God has gone to her reward. “The day after” is sad but very sweet because of the love she had for her Lord and His church. “The day after” we will continue the work of the church. The relay baton has been passed and we will try not to drop it!

The Rev. Dr. Knox Herndon is the pastor of His House Community Church (SBC) and a substitute school teacher in the Fayette County school system, and a former Army chaplain. The church is currently meeting in the American Legion Log Cabin across from the fountain on the Square in Fayetteville. Prayer line 770-719-2365; e-mail Khern2365@aol.com

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