January 6th…”WHAT IS YOUR MOTHER’S FULL NAME?”
POEM – “HER BRIGHT SHINING” by N. Elliott Noorlun
Her name is Clarice, From the Latin and Greek,
Declare her shining, If kindness you seek.
Arlone is her middle name, Its meaning a mystery,
Yet loving and fairness, Is our mother’s history.
The year 1937 brought this hand-tinted photograph of our mother to life as she graduated High School in her very tiny village of Scarville, Iowa. I muse upon the gentility of our blessed matriarch as she, like any young woman, aspired as to what her future would hold now that her alma mater faded behind her as she strolled, diploma in hand, to the car and the family farm where she was born in 1919. In Mother’s case, I have always had the perception that the name chosen for her to go through life with was very well chosen, for Mom was always “shining” in our lives. Like a human jewel, she “shined” in love given, sacrifice offered for her family, loyalty to our father and, above all, loyalty to her Lord Jesus whom she served until He called her Home to Heaven’s Shores last year on June 23rd, 2017 at the tender age of 98 years and 3 months. Mange Tusen Takk (Norwegian for MANY THOUSAND THANKS), Mom for “sparkling and shining” in the life of this Norwegian Farmer’s Son.
