Today is Mother’s Day as well as my Mom’s Birthday. I want to share the legacy that came from the Hocutt side of the family. I seem to know more about my Granddaddy Hocutt than I do about my Granddaddy Lee. I know my Dad was a devout Christian, his Christian faith fits right into this tribute about my Mom.
My Mom was born in 1912 and her Daddy was the Reverend Joseph Edgar Hocutt of Sharpsburg, NC. He was a circuit rider preacher on Sundays traveling to various churches from Sunday to Sunday. During the week, he was the school teacher in a one room school house in Sharpsburg. He taught children from first grade on up. His legacy was passed on to generations beyond his immediate children.
My Mom was a preachers kid and she was raised in a Christian home on a farm. She grew up loving God and she accepted Jesus at a young age. She grew up into a respectable young woman and met my Dad, and they ultimately got married.
God used both my Mom and Dad for His glory. When we lived in Rocky Mount, we attended Lakeside Baptist Church which was across from the Rocky Mount City Lake. We attended church on a regular basis and my Mom always enrolled me in Vacation Bible School. There, the Bible was taught and I learned about how much Jesus loved me.
As I grew older, we moved to Portsmouth, VA when I was 12 years old. We started attending Grove Park Baptist Church and I accepted Jesus as my Savior at the age of 13. The Reverend Clyde Finley baptized me.
While we lived in Portsmouth, both my Mom and Dad connected with that church. He became a Deacon and my Mom got into many church ministries such as ministering to inmates at the Portsmouth City Jail, she took in a homeless woman where she lived with us while trying to get her life back on track.
My Mom had the heart of Christ and she wasn’t afraid to tell others about the saving grace of Jesus. She engaged the gospel of Christ daily by being the hands and feet of Christ.
In our family, I have one brother and two sisters. There are a total of 4 siblings, all descendants of Reverend Joseph Edgar Hocutt. My Mom and Dad taught us the Bible, prayed for us, and never gave up on us. Even when I was a little rebellious in school, they continued to love me.
There is a Scripture from Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” This is exactly what my Granddaddy Hocutt did. He trained up my Mom in the way of the Lord and she never departed from it. She raised her family to love God. This is the legacy from my Granddaddy’s dedication to God.
Today, there are three ordained men of God that are heirs of Granddaddy Hocutt. I for one am a co-vocational minister of a parachurch. My brother is an ordained Deacon and Elder of his church. My nephew is an ordained Deacon and Elder of his church as well. Our wives are devout followers of Christ and are engaged in the ministry of their churches and ministries. My two sisters are devout followers of Christ Jesus. Both teach women’s Bible studies, minister to women of broken marriages, and minister to people who have addiction problems. Both sisters are gifted in writing Christian devotions, songs, and poems.
We have all raised our children in Christian homes where they have learned about the sacrificial love of Jesus. My daughter Corrie, accepted Jesus at 5 years of age. Most of my siblings children have accepted Christ Jesus.
This is a powerful legacy of Christian ministers of the Gospel. My Mom was more that a Mom to us. In her elder years, she would always end her prayers with this phase. “Dear Jesus, help me to be less of myself, and more about you!”
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