By Glenn Dromgoole

My mother was the kindest person I ever knew. Smart. Brave. Humble. But most of all, kind.

Maybe we all grow up thinking our own mother is the closest thing to perfection we’ll know. At least I hope that’s how you feel. 

I did. And she was.

It wasn’t easy being a preacher’s wife and a mother. We never had enough money, although that seemed to worry my father more than it did my mother.

It didn’t bother her to be in the background while my dad was in the spotlight. I suppose that’s because she had an inner strength, a healthy sense of who she was, which enabled her to put others first and herself second. 

Glenn’s parents, Minnie Lee and Glenn A. Dromgoole

Those who knew her felt that strength. She was the person – in the town, in the church, in the family – who got things done. If she saw a need, she knew what to do about it, quietly, without fanfare or recognition.

She especially enjoyed hosting receptions and cooking church suppers. Cooking was her avocation, her great love. She didn’t think of it as a chore but as a release. She could lose herself in the kitchen. 

In what she knew – but we didn’t know – were her last few months to live, she invited her two granddaughters to come for what would be a final visit. She was sicker than any of us realized, but she pretended to be fine until we had left the children. She told a friend that she was determined to have two weeks with those children, and no one was going to deny her that pleasure.

Two months later, as she lay dying in the hospital, in great pain, her last thoughts were of others. She called a young girl to offer her some advice. She had her brother-in-law bring a cake to her hospital room so she could throw one last party — for the nurses who had cared for her. The next night she died.

In my mother, I saw the pure love of God in the living flesh. 

My dad preached it. My mother exuded it.

Happy Mother’s Day.

Glenn Dromgoole and his wife Carol own Texas Star Trading Company in downtown Abilene. He has published more than 35 books, including A Few Encouraging Words and Coleman Springs USA.