I encouraged my oldest brother Pete to share his experiences by inspiring us to be motivated enough to overcome any obstacle placed in our paths. I remember telling him how I wished someone in past generations would have left some kind of manuscript outlining the steps needed to believe myself. My mother died when we were very young and, both Pete and I realized she passed the torch holding the keys to our families’ legacy. The responsibility to create a legacy other generations would ultimately benefit from, was passed down to us. So, we declared we would make sure present and future generations had something written to use as a frame of reference when faced with life’s challenges. We realized both of our parents left a legacy but it was in the form of instilling morals and values in us. Mesmerized by the love displayed by TV parents, I would compare my parents and get disappointed when our lives didn’t emulate those families.
My parents are from the “Old school generation” and the word “Love” was not spoken in our household. We were not the touchy-feely kind of family and I resented that for a long time until I did some serious introspection. I discovered I had the best parents in the world. You see, both my mother and my father were dynamic men and women. Each one of them instilled moral and values in my life that helped mold me into the woman I am today. I remember growing up watching my father work two jobs to provide for us, and then, he would make sure fatherless children in our community were not hungry. He would bring extra food home to distribute to those families. He was really committed to helping others and when he swept the pavement in front of our house, he would do the same for neighbors on both sides of us. My father could fix everything and the quality that stands our most about him right now is how he taught his sons and his daughters to be able to fix anything. I use to think my father was too hard on me, but hindsight revealed a father who wanted to make sure I was driven to succeed, against all odds. I didn’t understand then, but I really understand now. I don’t know about you, but all I ever wanted and desired is for my parents to tell me that they loved and appreciated me.
I went home to spend quality time with my father during the onset of a lengthy illness and he told me, “You have grown into an awesome woman.” But, my mother didn’t get to see the woman I evolved into because she passed very early in life. My mother didn’t understand me because I was so different from her other five children. I was also very different from my peers because I had already developed an entrepreneurial spirit by the time I was 13 years old. At a very early age I already knew I was going to leave Baltimore. I already knew I was going to travel and work for the Lord. And every opportunity I got, I told others because I wanted someone to validate the visions I had. Because she couldn’t see the vision God gave me, I thought she didn’t believe in me. That was the farthest thing from the truth. My mother not only loved me; see really believed in me and she believed in my dreams too. No matter how many mistakes I made in life, my mother was always there for me. She had so many young people at her funeral because she always opened our home to people, young and old. I thought she was weak because she would give food to anyone who came to our house hungry. On many occasions, we hardly had enough for us to eat but she would feed them anyway. In her own way, she was a community activist and she would help anybody. For a long time, my brothers and sisters and I thought she was too vulnerable, but years later, we discovered we were just like her. Our parents taught us to be of service to others. Both of them taught us that being of service is not a weakness, it is a strength.
Instead of focusing on the fact were never told we were loved, we started telling our dad we loved him and a miracle happened. Before my father died, he told me that he loved me. Now what about you? Are you too busy to give back to your parents the things they so freely gave to you—love that can only be exhibited by spending quality time with them? Don’t you know that parents get lonely too? Is mother’s day, father’s day or other holidays the only time you go and spend quality time with them? Peace, Love, Joy and Good Health!!! God Bless You. Wanda Ross, A Woman of Prophetic Destiny
My parents are from the “Old school generation” and the word “Love” was not spoken in our household. We were not the touchy-feely kind of family and I resented that for a long time until I did some serious introspection. I discovered I had the best parents in the world. You see, both my mother and my father were dynamic men and women. Each one of them instilled moral and values in my life that helped mold me into the woman I am today. I remember growing up watching my father work two jobs to provide for us, and then, he would make sure fatherless children in our community were not hungry. He would bring extra food home to distribute to those families. He was really committed to helping others and when he swept the pavement in front of our house, he would do the same for neighbors on both sides of us. My father could fix everything and the quality that stands our most about him right now is how he taught his sons and his daughters to be able to fix anything. I use to think my father was too hard on me, but hindsight revealed a father who wanted to make sure I was driven to succeed, against all odds. I didn’t understand then, but I really understand now. I don’t know about you, but all I ever wanted and desired is for my parents to tell me that they loved and appreciated me.
I went home to spend quality time with my father during the onset of a lengthy illness and he told me, “You have grown into an awesome woman.” But, my mother didn’t get to see the woman I evolved into because she passed very early in life. My mother didn’t understand me because I was so different from her other five children. I was also very different from my peers because I had already developed an entrepreneurial spirit by the time I was 13 years old. At a very early age I already knew I was going to leave Baltimore. I already knew I was going to travel and work for the Lord. And every opportunity I got, I told others because I wanted someone to validate the visions I had. Because she couldn’t see the vision God gave me, I thought she didn’t believe in me. That was the farthest thing from the truth. My mother not only loved me; see really believed in me and she believed in my dreams too. No matter how many mistakes I made in life, my mother was always there for me. She had so many young people at her funeral because she always opened our home to people, young and old. I thought she was weak because she would give food to anyone who came to our house hungry. On many occasions, we hardly had enough for us to eat but she would feed them anyway. In her own way, she was a community activist and she would help anybody. For a long time, my brothers and sisters and I thought she was too vulnerable, but years later, we discovered we were just like her. Our parents taught us to be of service to others. Both of them taught us that being of service is not a weakness, it is a strength.
Instead of focusing on the fact were never told we were loved, we started telling our dad we loved him and a miracle happened. Before my father died, he told me that he loved me. Now what about you? Are you too busy to give back to your parents the things they so freely gave to you—love that can only be exhibited by spending quality time with them? Don’t you know that parents get lonely too? Is mother’s day, father’s day or other holidays the only time you go and spend quality time with them? Peace, Love, Joy and Good Health!!! God Bless You. Wanda Ross, A Woman of Prophetic Destiny
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