Letters of an Abiding Faith:

Legacy of a Slave's GrandDaughter to her Son

written by Ella Lewis to her Son (Rudolph Lewis)

*   *   *   *   *

*It seems certain by the time of this letter that Mona Lisa and I had broken up and that thoughts of marriage were far from both our minds. It was all for the best. As Mama says, God works in mysterious ways and wonders to behold.. When we think we have been denied what we desire, it is not always a bad thing. Often we are being prepared for something better. Something that God really wants us to have; something that will be the best for us and those about us. We can’t thank the Lord enough for our blessing, even when it seems a disastrous outcome. I learned that from Mama, too. 

I am uncertain to whom Theresa was then engaged. She would, however, marry; divorce; and then marry again. She and her second husband, Tim, were married in the yard of the family house. I don’t know why she did that. I suspect she, knowing Mama is a holy woman, wanted Mama’s blessings so that this marriage would last and be all she wanted out of a marriage. Moreover, the family house was built on consecrated ground. Theresa and Tim later moved to Virginia. The two of them stayed at the family house with Mama for a couple of years before they bought land and built a house near Petersburg.  An employee of Bell-Atlantic (now Verizon) for over ten years then, Theresa, had her job transferred to Richmond, Virginia. Theresa’s son, Maurice, then grown, remained in Baltimore; he stayed in Lucinda’s basement. He will marry soon. 

Theresa and Tim now have their own house. They had it built outside of Petersburg. Both of them are working and doing fine. Tim, the city boy, has adjusted to Virginia and country life. His favorite pastime is hunting squirrels, in which he always brings a few for Mama. In that Mama still has a wood stove in the kitchen, he also brings her wood and stores it under the shed. He has not forgotten her generosity and sympathy when he and his wife were struggling. It is true, in this instance, you reap what you sow.