by Ricky Doc Sauceda
This past year I have heard sermons from inspiring women on KHCB radio: Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Beth Moore, Edwina Patterson to name a few from radio. But, the biggest influence I have had from a woman is my mom...Mary Jane Sauceda. She was so well balanced and had a patience of great expanse. She put up with my father for way too long because of it...but it was right. Why?
All pastors will tell you that a marriage needs your commitment and not to give up on it. There are two reasons the Lord allows a divorce: you have an unbeliever as a spouse and infidelity. Pretty much, my father was both of those during their marriage. My Momma gave him all of her love and faithfulness...he had the greatest woman he would ever have and lost her.
Momma was raised in a one parent family. Her father was killed in Victoria, Texas when she was a young girl. Afterward, my grandma placed her into a convent. She had three other younger sisters and two younger brothers which stayed with grandma. I don't know how long momma was in there, but that is what gave her the strong spirituality she had. She was a prayerful woman and strong...literally. When she came out of the convent, times were tough in the 1940s. My grandma had her family doing migrant farm work and it made my Momma tough. Eventually they settled back into Raymondville, Texas and she and grandma found jobs at a pharmacy. That is where Momma was a soda jerker and grandma worked the main counter.
Momma was blessed with a good mind and made good grades in school. She finished high school in three years and studied accounting at Texas Southmost College in Brownsville, Texas. She was finishing up school and still working when my father began to constantly woo her. He finally won her heart because of the way he took care of his mom and siblings. He had quit school in the ninth grade to work full time. People liked him and he was popular around that little town. Nobody had a bad word to say about him. So, she took the big plunge.
We traveled to San Juan, California and that is where my youngest sister was born. We came back to Texas when I was two-years-old...back to Raymondville. Then to Houston and finally to Cut & Shoot...all in Texas. Mom and Dad had accumulated some money with several businesses they owned in Houston, bought a house and ten acres and moved to the countryside. In Houston, momma purchased learning books for me...learning skill sets from Sesame Street and she bought an encyclopedia set with college and standard dictionaries. She had me start with the A's and I read as many pages a day as I could. She said it was important to be intelligent and well spoken.
I and my sisters were familiar with Catholic weekend religious schooling and Sunday worship. St. Gregory was our first church in Houston, then Sacred Heart in Conroe, Holy Family in Missouri City, and St. Anthony in Channelview. Momma was always having to prompt me to go to church...I needed it. Even after I was "saved" I still didn't go regularly...I listened to a lot of radio and watched television broadcasts and read my bible. And I had a small group of friends I fellowshipped with.
In all this time, Momma was always telling me about prayer and faith. She did not read the bible; she had a different kind of faith. She knew "right and wrong" and that is how she lived. She could not quote scripture but she could recite Holy Prayers with love and feeling...like the ones I have shared with you. She was honest, loving, trustworthy, kind, admonishing, lively, intelligent, independent, and faithful in relationships and Christianity. I adored her with all of my heart...she was my world as a young man.
When dad left to Florida she was crying in her room. I walked up to her, hugged her and said "It's okay, Momma. I'll be your man." I will never forget how she hugged me and right now I am really tearing up. She took a whole lot of crap from my dad...it was bad. And she always forgave him, until he went too far.
She would be shocked at how I am about attending church now. She would be floored that I am teaching, serving in various ministries, am a member of the Mens Club and dedicate time each day to pray - she prayed day and night. She would be very happy with me in that regard...very. She would also be understanding about my divorce; it happens. She gave me a lot of structure and I give other people credit for me being salvaged. But the bottom line is momma instilled the fear and love of God in me, and that is why other people were able to reach me. The Lord had to use a few people to get this mule headed man to change...He finally did it.
I will never be able to have another Momma...that is more than okay. I can hear her voice of wisdom when I am feeling down. I will forever carry her in my memory and my heart.