My grandfather LeRoy Mason earned the money to raise his large family
in the Great Depression as a coal miner in the Pennsylvania hills.He
was a natural athlete, nicknamed "Cy" after the great Cy Young, but he
gave up sports to raise his family well. The speed that gave him great
advantage in baseball saved his life and made him legendary in his
community as he outran a mine cave-in that crushed the men just behind him. But what made his heart beat fastest and gave him the greatest satisfaction was sharing the Word. He did it through teaching, leading Sunday School,
leading Bible studies, and his favorite---preaching. Though he was
always a lay preacher, assisting his pastors and speaking in countless
nursing home services, he was well-known as that little community's
"preacher man".
A son of that preacher man was, according to his little sister, "the baddest kid Dad ever had". Jim loved and respected his father and his father's way of life, but had no interest in it himself. No interest, that is, until after he miraculously escaped with his life from two of World War II's hottest spots. Back home, he bowed his knee and surrendered his life to the Sovereign Lord. Soon he was in the middle of an anointed calling--the "baddest kid Dad ever had" was now a preacher man. Pastor J.L. Mason.
Pastor Jim was an amazing father, and always took any of his children who would go with him to serve wherever he was serving. I was the daughter of that "preacher man", and nothing thrilled me more. I "preached" with the piano bench as my altar, and my brothers as reluctant and often misbehaving congregants. I tooled around in his office, read his books, tried to help him however he would allow. Together we visited countless nursing home residents, sharing scriptures and songs. Dad believed in me so much that I didn't know girls "weren't supposed to be preachers for real" until much later. Gradually I got the message from others that aspiring to be a preacher's wife was most appropriate for me, but it never felt right.
I did find a preacher man to marry anyway. Charlie was headed for dentistry when we first met, so I knew we could only be friends. To my amazement and delight, God put his hand on this Hoosier (another great "hick from French Lick"), and called him to preach. Like my father, Charlie Young believed in me, and threw the doors wide open for me to walk into my calling.
Two preachers under one roof. Quite a one-two punch for our 3 children. They were repeatedly told they had a lot to live up to, or to live down, depending on the pundit's perspective. We never felt that way. We only desired that they would each be who God created them to be, his unique fully devoted, faithfully following child. Gratefully, all 3 are that. We couldn't be prouder or more grateful that each one is exactly where God has called them, using their gifts to build the Kingdom of God.
And one of the sons of the preacher man (and woman) is himself a preacher. J.L. , or Jacob as he is also known, is a humble servant who powerfully declares the Word of God with the strength that only those can who know God has called them and they can do nothing else. This weekend his calling by God will be affirmed and confirmed by the Church as he is ordained an elder in the Free Methodist Church. I feel sure his Great Grandpa Mason will be in the great cloud of witnesses cheering him on from the stands of heaven. By the grace and mercy of God, his 93 year old grandfather James Mason will be with his father Charles Young and I and the other elders of the conference, joining the Bishop to lay hands on him in prayer to officially launch his lifelong calling as a preacher man.
Praise be to God.
A son of that preacher man was, according to his little sister, "the baddest kid Dad ever had". Jim loved and respected his father and his father's way of life, but had no interest in it himself. No interest, that is, until after he miraculously escaped with his life from two of World War II's hottest spots. Back home, he bowed his knee and surrendered his life to the Sovereign Lord. Soon he was in the middle of an anointed calling--the "baddest kid Dad ever had" was now a preacher man. Pastor J.L. Mason.
Pastor Jim was an amazing father, and always took any of his children who would go with him to serve wherever he was serving. I was the daughter of that "preacher man", and nothing thrilled me more. I "preached" with the piano bench as my altar, and my brothers as reluctant and often misbehaving congregants. I tooled around in his office, read his books, tried to help him however he would allow. Together we visited countless nursing home residents, sharing scriptures and songs. Dad believed in me so much that I didn't know girls "weren't supposed to be preachers for real" until much later. Gradually I got the message from others that aspiring to be a preacher's wife was most appropriate for me, but it never felt right.
I did find a preacher man to marry anyway. Charlie was headed for dentistry when we first met, so I knew we could only be friends. To my amazement and delight, God put his hand on this Hoosier (another great "hick from French Lick"), and called him to preach. Like my father, Charlie Young believed in me, and threw the doors wide open for me to walk into my calling.
Two preachers under one roof. Quite a one-two punch for our 3 children. They were repeatedly told they had a lot to live up to, or to live down, depending on the pundit's perspective. We never felt that way. We only desired that they would each be who God created them to be, his unique fully devoted, faithfully following child. Gratefully, all 3 are that. We couldn't be prouder or more grateful that each one is exactly where God has called them, using their gifts to build the Kingdom of God.
And one of the sons of the preacher man (and woman) is himself a preacher. J.L. , or Jacob as he is also known, is a humble servant who powerfully declares the Word of God with the strength that only those can who know God has called them and they can do nothing else. This weekend his calling by God will be affirmed and confirmed by the Church as he is ordained an elder in the Free Methodist Church. I feel sure his Great Grandpa Mason will be in the great cloud of witnesses cheering him on from the stands of heaven. By the grace and mercy of God, his 93 year old grandfather James Mason will be with his father Charles Young and I and the other elders of the conference, joining the Bishop to lay hands on him in prayer to officially launch his lifelong calling as a preacher man.
Praise be to God.
1 comment:
What a remarkable legacy! God certainly has his hand on your family. I pray their hearts will always be tender toward God, and that they will seek his will above everything else. You are truly gifted and blessed by God!
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