Rose Adams - Treasured Moments with Mother Graham

Copyright 2012 by Rose Adams

All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN: 978-1-4336-7621-5

Published by B&H Publishing Group

Nashville, Tennessee

Dewey Decimal Classification: 242

Subject Heading: CHRISTIAN LIFE \ DEVOTIONAL LITERATURE \ GRAHAM, MORROW COFFEY

Photos courtesy of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Use by permission.

Scripture is taken from the King James Version of the Bible and the New King James Version ( nkjv ), copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson Publishers.

The excerpted material containing comments from Billy Graham about his mother were taken from the following books:

Calling Youth to Christ by Billy Graham, Zondervan Publishing, 1947 (no longer in print)

They Call Me Mother Graham by Morrow Graham, Fleming H. Revell, 1977, BGEA, copyright 2007

Peace with God by Billy Graham, Doubleday, 1953 WORD Publishing, copyright 1984

Hope for the Troubled Heart by Billy Graham, Word Publishing, 1991

Facing Death by Billy Graham , Grason (Division of BGEA), 1987

Just As I Am by Billy Graham, Harper/Zondervan, 1997

The Journey by Billy Graham, Thomas Nelson Publishing, 2007

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 16 15 14 13 12

My daughter Judye

My granddaughters Kimberly Marie, Keri, Kris, and Kimberly Dawn

and

All those who never had the opportunity to know Morrow Coffey Graham but who will feel as though they do after strolling through these pages of timetime that, for her, became the preamble to life everlasting.

Billy Graham, who encouraged me to share

what Ive learned from his dear mother.

Heritage encompasses many things: family trees, historical bloodlines, birthrights, customs, traditions, folklore, ancestry, marriage and birth records, photographs, scrapbooks, obituaries, genealogies, family crests, and for somegood memories and family Bibles.

Actually the Bible, in one sense, is a family tree with deep roots. This is where we go to learn about ourselves: our cracked foundation, our clouded environment, our contaminated bloodlines, our depraved minds, and our sordid DNA.

The Bible is also the place where we find the tree of life where the overflowing sap of truth purifies our blood, transforms our hearts, renews our minds, overcomes our failures, builds secure foundations, and assures our futures with hope of everlasting life in a perfect environment.

There is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender shoots will not cease. Though its root may grow old in the earth, and its stump may die in the ground, yet at the scent of water it will bud and bring forth branches like a plant. (Job 14:79 nkjv )

This was the clinging hope of my paternal grandmother, Morrow Coffey Graham. Even in death she knew that her body would die, but her spirit would burst forth with new life. I never visited her that I didnt get at least a brief Bible lesson. She was a biblical quote factory, billowing forth Scripture, endlessly reminding anyone who happened to be in earshot that the Bible is the only hope for individuals, couples, familiesand Christs church. She never left anyone out.

We often hear stories about the struggles of those growing older and the challenges that caregivers face. This is a story of how two special women found solace in this chapter of life through friendship with each other and friendship with the Comforter, the Lord Jesus Christ.

I cherish my heritage, but heritage does not rescue anyone from the worlds clutches of our eternal souls. We all stand condemned before God because of our sin against Him. But through Gods Son He has provided the pardon that forgives the judgment and pays the debt of the penalty of sin that assaulted the love of the Fatherthe righteous Judge. The Son came to this earth to provide for our redemption. His name is Jesus Christ. Through His blood that was shed for our sin, we can cast off our tainted rags of sin at the foot of the cross and be clothed in His righteousness. At the foot of the cross is where we find the Judges abundant mercy, Gods everlasting forgiveness, the Fathers sacrificial gift to the world, and Christs boundless grace and love. How can we obtain such a hopeful heritage? The Bible says,

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:1617 nkjv, emphasis added)

Mother Graham, as she was known to more than just her grandchildren, loved to quote from the book of Titus:

The kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:47 nkjv )

When I last visited my grandmother on my twenty-ninth birthday, exactly one month before her death in 1981, she reminded me of the great heritage we have in Christ and compelled me to be faithful in telling people around the world what Christ has done for us.

Our hope is not in our earthly lineage. I trust that through these pages you will sense Mother Grahams heart for others and particularly her grateful heart toward the Lord Jesus. She learned the wisdom of the agesa heavenly heritage is far greater than any earthly heritageto live in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. No matter the age, the Savior gives comfort-care to all who will come to Him, all who are weary and heavy laden.

I shall never forget the first time I saw Mother Graham. The year was 1958. North Carolina was anticipating the return of a young evangelist who would come to be known as North Carolinas favorite sonBilly Graham. The Coliseum on Independence Boulevard was the site of the city-wide evangelistic meetings we often referred to as revivals in those days.

Kyle Corriher, a man from Landis Baptist Church, my home church, rented a bus each night and worked tirelessly to fill it full of souls . If you dont have the money to pay the fare, come anyway and help fill the bus. I dont want one empty seat, Mr. Corriher stated with passion. Because of this dear mans generosity, my children and I were able to attend the meetings every night to hear Billy preach. I realized the value of what Mr. Corriher was doingparticipating in the work of evangelism. Mr. Corriher called people to come and fill the seats on the bus and when everyone got to the Coliseum, Billy called people to leave their seats and come to Jesus. Mr. Corriher was a great supporter of Billys ministry, to the glory of the Lord.

Every night Billy was received with great enthusiasm as he walked to the pulpit. Especially memorable was the night he welcomed the swelling crowd and then, with sacred pride, introduced his beloved mother. This snapshot will never fade. Mother Graham stood to her feet and the sweet countenance of this petite woman, clad in a white suit and crowned with white hair, looked like an angel. Never did I dream of meeting her, much less having the privilege and honor of caring for her twenty years later. In return you might say she cared for my soul; for our days together seldom passed that I didnt sit at her feet and learn from the wisdom she deposited in my heart from the Holy Scriptures.