I will be the first to admit that when I was first on my own as a young adult that I was a pretty naive and a gullible young fool. I did a lot of things wrong and only by the grace of God in maintaining His hedge of protection around me did my life not take a different path! I am very thankful for all of his providential wisdom in keeping my paths straight!

I knew how to cook and clean when Mike and I got married and all the basics like that but I didn't really know much about organizing my time (Mike would argue that I still fail in this part miserably.. thankfully he loves me anyway) and being a good wife and mother. I don't think those things just come naturally at all. I think you need good mentors to help teach you. Sometimes that is your own mother, sister, aunt, friend. Other times it is the strangers who God puts in your life. My stranger was Miss Jackie, the wife of a retired Marine Master Gunz. Her husband was an old, tough-as-nails kind of guy. You know the gritty true Marine type, right?! She had plenty of life experience living with him so she knew perfectly well how to keep all us young wives in order at church and others places. Miss Jackie was my momma away from home and I still look at her with much love and respect every time I see her :-)

Anytime that I became too much of a whiner (which wasn't often...I don't think), she would forcefully but kindly tell me I needed to tough up!  I took her training so much to heart that when I went in to labor with Jesse at church one evening, she started timing contractions from where she was sitting. When the service was over she told me "I know I told you to tough up, but I didn't tell you to be an idiot. You better get yourself to the hospital NOW!" He was born less than an hour after we got there :-)

I recently met up with Miss Jackie again at a wedding we attended in South Carolina. We sat together at the reception and talked and talked and talked. I felt truly blessed to still be able to call her my momma away from home. She's one of those few old souls that I've connected with over the years that, no matter how far away we live or how far between visits, still connect as if we've never lived apart from each other. She will always hold a very special place in my heart as the first really good Christian woman (and Marine wife) mentor that I ever had. Thank you Miss Jackie for teaching this young gullible fool a thing or two about the world. I love you!!

In Christ,

Sallie