Waiting on the Lord...

Helen holding Johnny

Helen and Floyd knew each other six years before they married.  In the meantime, Floyd joined the army.  He was stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii after the Japanese bombing.  Helen was back at home getting ready to fight a war of her own.

Helen met, and later married a man named Charles.  They had a son she named Johnny Wayne.  When later asked why she chose the name, she simply stated that John Wayne was her favorite movie star.  Duh!  Obviously!!  Anyway, Charles and Helen's marriage was not ideal.  Apparently Johnny was the only thing good that came of it, and they were soon divorced.

Meanwhile, Floyd was back from the service, and he and Helen were reunited.  They married and before long, my mother was born.  There was a short period of time when Mom and John were actually raised together, although they were both too young to remember this time of their lives. 

Sharon and Johnny

Floyd loved little Johnny, and he was very protective of his family--Helen, Johnny, Sharon (my mother), and his mother-in-law Versie.  Helen and Charles were in the midst of a bitter custody battle over Johnny, and Charles won.

According to a story told to me, Johnny was playing in Helen's front yard one day and was taken away from her.  She wasn't allowed to see him anymore.  One day, she was standing at Versie's kitchen sink and she heard fire trucks go by the house.  She knew it was something to do with young Johnny--and she was right.  Floyd and Grandpa Railey (Versie's husband) jumped in the car and followed the firetruck.  They found the scene of a wreck between a car and a train.  Little Johnny was the only survivor.  He was thrown from the car and landed in a water-filled ditch nearby.  Helen went to the hospital to see about Johnny, but Charles had re-married and she was told that her presence was confusing to the boy, and was asked not to return.  So, Helen had to make what would be the most difficult decision of her life.  Fight for the son she loved and risk loosing everything, or let him go and make the best life she could with her new husband and baby girl.  She backed away. 

In the car on that fateful day was one of Johnny's relatives by the name of Helen.  He knew that was his mother's name, and he was led to believe that it was she who died in the wreck with the train.  Throughout his life, he believed that his mother was dead.  In reality, he grew up just down the street from his mother.  My mother and Johnny even went to middle school together.  Mom says that one time, she got in trouble at school for telling everyone that he was her brother.  She was confused because she didn't even know the story--it was a cousin that had told the tale.

When Johnny was in his thirties, Helen's sister-in-law, Bonnie, helped to make sure that Johnny knew the truth.  By that time, he was grown, had served in the military, married, and had children of his own.  He says that he remembers meeting her for the first time as an adult.  He hugged her and just sat there resting his head on her breast, weeping.  He felt like he had come home--that a hole in his heart had been filled.  He was very conflicted and torn for a long time.  I guess when you are led to believe a lie for your whole life, you really have to make peace with the truth for yourself.  It wasn't that he'd had a bad life with his dad and step-mom.  It just was missing something... his mother.  He wanted to honor them all, and Helen gave him the space and freedom to work this out in his own heart.

R to L:  Sharon, Helen, Patti, Johnny-- Back: Floyd

I am so proud to say that this picture was taken on Mother's Day, 2011.  It is Mema with her family reunited:  her husband, Floyd, her daughters, Patti and Sharon, and her son, Johnny Wayne.

During Mema's illness, Johnny decided to fully embrace his mother.  He visited her, sat at the hospital with us, and became a part of the family that feels like was always there.  And now that she is gone, he has been such a comfort to us all.  He has filled a void for my daughter, Emily, for sure!  And, in honor of his mother's memory, he has chosen to help in the ministry at the church she and Papa founded over half a century ago.

What a story of reconciliation!  Mema waited for this picture for a LONG time.  (In honor of my Uncle, I won't say how many years, hee-hee.)  There was nothing that Helen could have done to change this situation.  She had to let go and let GOD work it out.  And He did!  God heard her prayers all those years, and said "Wait!  I'll let it happen when you really need it!"  It just lets me know that it is true that God has won the war before we have even fought a battle.

"Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."  Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)