Mothers Not Forgotten – May 11, 2003
For over 40 years, Richard L. Evans was the voice and writer of the Spoken Word. Shortly after he was born in the spring of 1906, his father died from a streetcar accident. Richard’s widowed mother was left behind with nine children, all under 18 years of age; Richard was the baby of the family—just 10 weeks old. With the death of their father, Richard and his siblings had to learn to work hard to help support the family.
Throughout his life, Richard was known for his loving devotion to his mother. Because of his father’s untimely death, a special bond developed between Richard and his mother. When 11 years old, he wrote this poem to her:
“Patient mother long ago,/ As patient now if not more so./ All the years she has faithfully served; /Whether tired or not, she is like a sweet bird.
She is the dearest thing in the world to me. /If not for her, a stranger I would be/ To this wide world—everything and everybody./ She says to me, ‘You are still my baby.’
I owe her all I own, if not more./ It matters not in the future whether I am rich or poor;/ I will [go] through every kind of strife/ To keep her safe throughout my life.”[i]
Many years later, as a grown man, Richard spoke of his dear mother on this broadcast:
“The Lord God had given her to me, and me to her, and she seemed to be as the extended arm of His influence…. She had nourished and sheltered me in infancy; nursed me in illness; heeded my cries and quieted my fears; had taught and counseled and encouraged, and dulled the sharp edge of disappointments…. We thank mothers for life given and for lessons learned, and for the constancy of their sacrifice and service. And best we honor them when we become the best of what they have taught us to be.”[ii]
Most mothers are forever cherished, never forgotten. This day and always, we thank those mothers who have taught important values and created precious memories. We honor those mothers who have done their best, who have loved with all their hearts, who have empowered their children to go forward into life with faith.
Program #3847
[i] David W. Evans, My Brother Richard L. (Beatrice Cannon Evans, 1984), 3.
[ii] Richard L. Evans, From Within These Walls (NY: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, NY, 1946), 229-230.