“Honor
your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land
that the Lord your God is giving you.”: -Exodus 20:12 (ESV)
The
fifth of God’s ten commandments given to Moses for the Israelite
people, and for us, who also study, love and seek to follow God’s
commandments, teaches us that we should honor parents. Honor means
to treat with respect due to their position and role. It means,
while we are young, obeying them. And when we grow into adults, to
continue to honor and respect them and to love and care for them.
This commandment is the only one of the ten with a specific promise:
“that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is
giving you.” This means not “just a long life,” (although that
is inherent in the promise), but it can mean, too, a life that is
filled with God’s presence and favor.
I
am a member of Old Unicoi Trail Chapter, Daughters of the American
Revolution. Twenty years ago, on August 17, 1997, I became a charter
and a founding member of that newly-organizing chapter (formed on
that day) to serve the areas of Towns, Union and Fannin County in the
mountains of North Georgia. I transferred my membership from the
Tomocheechee Chapter, NSDAR, Clarkesville, where I had become a new
member of National Society Daughters of the American Revolution in
1992. I had traced my ancestry back to John Ingraham of South
Carolina, one of three of my ancestors (the other known ancestors
serving in the Revolution were John Henry Stonecypher, Jr., Stephen
Souther, and Bluford Elisha Dyer, Sr.). Daughters of American
Revolution chapters throughout America seek to honor ancestors, and
are patriotic and service organizations, not only honoring those who
have preceded us but serving the needs of people in a compassionate
and caring way in the present. The twentieth anniversary celebration
of Old Unicoi Trail Chapter, NSDAR, recalled highlights of two
decades of service to our area and highlighted some accomplishments
the chapter and its members had made, always with the aim of service
to others..
At
the celebration meeting of the Old Unicoi Trail’s twentieth
anniversary, two were presented awards: the “American Women in
History” recognition by National Society, Daughters of American
Revolution. Mrs. Shirley Carver Miller, wife of former Governor of
Georgia and U. S. Senator, Mr. Zell Miller, was honored at the
meeting for her outstanding work with adult education throughout
Georgia, and the adult-learning centers that assist interested adults
to earn their high school diplomas through the GED (Georgia
Educational Development program). And I, Ethelene Dyer Jones, also
received the “American Women in History” award for my work in
preserving history through my historical preservation work and
writing (five books based on local and area history and newspaper
columns over a long period of 27 years, with a large percentage being
on area history topics).
As
I received the distinguished award, I felt unworthy of the honor, but
at the same time glad and thankful that I had honored the memory of
my ancestors who had fought for America’s freedom, and others since
that Revolutionary War period who had stood firmly as patriots and
builders of a free nation where we can exercise our freedoms to work
and develop an even stronger nation. As I received the award, I was
grateful to my own parents for how they had reared me, and my thanks
reached back to John Ingraham and other ancestors who had been
willing to fight for the freedoms we still enjoy today. “Honor
your father and your mother,” a commandment with a promise, indeed.
Prayer:
Thank you, God. Your word is true and righteous altogether, being
fulfilled to succeeding generations of those who love and follow Your
precepts. Amen. - Ethelene Dyer Jones 08.20.2017
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