3 minute read
Shaping The Life Of A Child
from June 2020
20 // June 2020
by Jimmy Bryant
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About The Author Jimmy Bryant and his wife of almost 60 years reside in Summerville, GA. He is interim pastor at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in the Gore Community. He has authored a book, “Confessions of a Baptist Minister,” available at Amazon.com. I n the 1940s, Northeast Mississippi provided a variety of real characters. Farmers, factory workers, and even some non-workers. Women who cooked three meals a day, usually from scratch, worked alongside their husbands or in factories, kept the house as neat as a pin, and made it look easy. Men who were hunters, fishermen, sawmillers, factory workers, and many odd ones with no desire to do such trivial things as hunt, fish, or work.
The characters who shaped my life were men and women like Tom Smith, a Jake-leg carpenter (which is about like a shade-tree mechanic), who was glad for an inquisitive little boy to follow him around. He had a cotton field across a gravel road from where I lived, and he always let me hold the reins of his mules while he adjusted the straps and harnesses. He never seemed to tire of giving answers to an inquisitive little boy. Then, there was Mr. Clarence, who let me ride with him in the truck, delivering lumber from the sawmill to various customers. He wasn’t much bigger than a straw, but he was married to a woman who made up for it. (If she had been two inches taller, she would have been round.) They had no children but seemed to love me and loved having me around. And best of all, there was Mrs. Angelina Stovall, who invited me to eat a formal lunch with her occasionally. She was very old, very elegant, and seemed to enjoy having a little boy eat with her from time to time. She set the table with cloth napkins and real silverware. Over time, she taught a little towheaded kid the proper use of each item on the table, from knives to napkins.
From the time I was about 10 and for the next four or five years, I found myself spending more time with them than with playmates my own age. I did not know what you called it at the time, but I learned some things from these people that playing “Cowboys and Indians” or playing “War Games” with corn cobs and sweet gum balls could have never taught me. I learned something about character, honesty, hard work, kindness, and integrity. These people showed me a few things about living in the real world at that time.
I was fortunate to grow up in a time of trust, safety, concern, and love for those who do not belong to you. Mr. Tom was never too busy to stop what he was doing and share a bit of wisdom or answer the questions of a little boy. Mrs. Angelina treated that little boy like he was her own, and she wanted him to grow up infused with her influence in his life.
Jesus Himself said, “suffer little children…to come unto me…” (Matthew 19:14). I wonder if there is not a little boy or girl in your community who you could demonstrate that kind of love and acceptance to and take a little time to show some interest in?
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