What Mammaw Said - Actions Speak Louder Than Words (Part Deux)

What Mammaw Said - Actions Speak Louder Than Words (Part Deux)

ONE OF THE many things that Mammaw had in common with the Proverbs 31 woman was the confidence of her husband.

Pappaw’s trust

The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. (v. 11, NASB)

Pappaw died when he was only fifty-six years old, but I’m sure he had every confidence in Mammaw’s love. Although I was always trying to fix her up with the widower in town, Mr. Purdle, Mammaw wouldn’t even think about another man. She spent nearly twice as many years as Pappaw’s widow as she did his wife. Pappaw gained much as the result of the love and dedication of Mammaw. Her actions spoke louder than words—love your man.

Meaningful work

She . . . works with her hands in delight. (v. 13, NASB)

Mammaw’s hands were always busy. She was a banker by profession—you should have seen that girl go on a ten-key adding machine—and a mother and grandmother by calling. Mammaw was also a devoted friend and the church treasurer for over thirty years. She worked but never complained. She was delighted to contribute to any and all who needed her. Her actions spoke louder than words—and what she said was to contribute with a joyful heart.

Mr. Arthur and Mrs. Oni

She rises also while it is still night and gives food to her household and portions to her maidens. (v. 15, NASB)

So get this. When Pappaw was alive, Mammaw would get up before the sun and put food on to cook before she went to the bank. She would then come home at lunch to feed my grandfather’s field workers. She and Pappaw forged a deep bond with Mr. Arthur and the other African Americans in our town, and she treated them with great dignity (in a region and during a time when that was not the most popular thing to do); in return, Mr. Arthur’s bride, Mrs. Oni, would deliver a gorgeous homemade chocolate cake to Mammaw each year on her birthday. The portion Mammaw gave to these workers was returned in the form of respect and honor until the day she died.

Her actions spoke louder than words. I hadn’t a clue what racism was.

You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. (1 Peter 1:22)