We received word this afternoon that my stepmother, Janie Billingsly, passed into the arms of Jesus, after a long battle with leukemia. This is the person whom I credit with introducing me to the Lord. I was only 7 when Janie and my dad married. My mother died when I was 5, leaving me and my two younger sisters to live with our grandparents. Our dad dated several women in those two years, but when he brought Janie, we knew she would be a good mother to us. She read to us and sewed doll clothes for us and worked to genuinely love us. The following years were not easy. My dad was a difficult person to live with. Janie demonstrated a lot of patience and faithfulness in that marriage. She continually relied on God, and she took us girls and our new little brother, Shane, to church all by herself for years. Janie, our dad and Shane moved from New Mexico to Ohio after I was married. The long distance hindered our relationship, and I did not feel close to my dad or Janie. My dad died after my first child, Nathan, was born, and the connection with Janie dwindled even more. It became a Christmas presents and birthday cards kind of deal, but not much more than that. My kids didnt even meet Janie until Annie was 10. But then Janie married Johnny, about 10 years ago, and gradually our relationship began to thaw. In the meantime, Mark and I adopted our two daughters from Ukraine. As an adoptive mother I have had time to reflect on what Janie did for me and my sisters. How she loved children who were not her own, and cared enough about us to raise us in the Lord. She experienced a lot of grief and disappointment in her own life, but faced life with a positve and giving spirit. Thank you, Janie. I praise God for you. Be blessed in your heavenly home, and I know, because of you, I will join you there someday.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 20:51:07 +0000
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