There are many people in our locale who are doing some amazing things in order to serve and make life better for others.
These ordinary people are doing some extraordinary things and thus our column is entitled, “Ordinary People Who Are Doing Some Extraordinary Things.”
Although their deeds are diverse, they each share the common virtues of charity, compassion, and an unshakeable determination to serve and help to make life better for others.
Unfortunately, I can only include and highlight just a few of the people who belong to this rare breed in this writing. However, if you are one of the ones who was not mentioned by name in this column today, please do not feel slighted or unappreciated by the omission. Keep on doing what you are doing to help others because your time is coming.
With that being said, I will present and briefly comment on the people we are considering and commending today.
Denise Mitchell Goings
I do not have to go far to start citing and celebrating ordinary people for doing some extraordinary things.
Right in my family and across the street from where I live on Pee Dee Church Road is a modern day Ruth, whose portrait symbolizes my intent today.
Denise Mitchell Goings is the wife of my brother, Earl.
Here is why she was selected to be a part of this discussion: When my last remaining sister passed, whom my mother had become emotionally and physically attached and dependent upon as she was nearing her mid-seventies, Earl and Denise voluntarily stepped up and assumed total responsibility for taking care of her.
Although she is not her biological daughter, she has completely committed herself to the well-being of my mother, who will be ninety years old in April.
In spite of the fact that her beloved mother-in-law has a form of dementia and is confined to a wheelchair, my sister-in-law takes compassionate and exceptional care of her.
She does this in spite of her other demanding obligations as a wife, mother, grandmother, and pastor, alongside her husband of perhaps one of the fastest growing and busiest churches in the Fayetteville and St. Pauls, North Carolina area.
Denise is primarily the reason why my mother is still alive, as healthy as to be expected in light of her physical and mental health, and not committed to a nursing home for the rest of her life.
Denise, you are truly a remarkable person – an ordinary woman who is doing extraordinary things.
Howard Edwards
Another person who would definitely make the cut and fit in the category of ordinary people who are doing extraordinary things is Mr. Howard Edwards.
It was brought to my attention that he has dedicated himself to going out on his own during Christmas and other times during the year to help destitute and impoverished children, as well as people who are going through tough and difficult times, due to no fault of their own.
I have met Howard, who use to run and manage the Exxon Station that was once operated by the late Jimmy Strickland.
I found him to be a very caring and cordial man, who would go out of his way to help people if it was within his means.
He is a giant among us, a good Samaritan and good neighbor, who to the best of my knowledge, has never tooted the horn of self-praise about what he does for others. Had it not been for a mutual friend that we both have, I would not have known about his good deeds.
Keep up the good work, Howard, for you are truly an ordinary man who is doing extraordinary things!
Friends Helping Friends
Sometimes extraordinary things are done by ordinary people who are a part of a corporate body. Such is the case with Friends Helping Friends.
Together they have come to the aid and rescue of many people and families in our locale, who have been victimized by fire, storms, and debilitating and life threatening diseases and other misfortunes. Together, they help to constitute a formidable force of charity, compassion, and mercy for many who have been hit hard by circumstances beyond their control.
Let me commend you and encourage you to keep up the good work that has served as a lifeline for many in the time of trouble.
Friends Helping Friends, you are regular people who are doing tremendous things. Keep serving others and the Lord will surely cause you to reap the fruit of your labor.
Nina Faye Jones
The final person who we are going to feature in this week’s column on ordinary people who are doing extraordinary things is a woman from Lake View named Nina Faye Jones.
Mrs. Nina Faye is a wife, mother, and grandmother who is battling the horrible and debilitating disorder of Multiple Sclerosis (M.S.). However, in spite of the pain and challenge that this and a few other chronic diseases pose, she has managed to persevere.
She along with her husband, who himself is recovering from a physical challenged in his body, are rearing three teenage granddaughters who are also physically challenged.
Nina Faye, who is sixty-four years old and is an avid reader, is the epitome of an ordinary person who is doing some extraordinary things.
She puts to shame all who make excuses for their apathy, laziness, and lack of effort for why they cannot succeed in their responsibilities and goals in life.
Many misguided young women have idolized and sought to mimic celebrities like Beyoncé and Miley Cyrus, just to name a few.
They, like so many others, are celebrity crazed fans in a star-struck society. Nevertheless, women like Mrs. Nina Faye Jones, who learned to persevere and endure hardness while at the same time living a very productive, selfless, and sacrificial life are the true heroines.
Her and the others who we have considered in this week’s column are the people each of us should admire, commend, and seek to emulate.
May the Lord raise up more ordinary people like these who He shall use to do extraordinary things.
