Winder, Ga., May 16, 1937
Miss Jewell Overstreet
Ocala, Florida
Dear Granddaughter,
I am the only grandfather you
have alive on the earth. You know by my appearance I have lived a long time, which is a
fulfilled promise of God. Deut. 5:16 and, Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for
this is right (no disobedience is). Honor thy father and mother (which is the first
commandment with promise), that it may be well with thee and thou mayst live long on the
earth, Eph. 6:1. Like you, I lost my father when a child, but I honored my father by
obeying my mother, whom God spared to me till I was fifteen, then took her away to heaven,
and no motherly light has been around me in sixty-three years. Suppose you had lost your
mother when you were fifteen, you would be crying your eyes out to have her back with you
to obey her whether you wanted to or not; but you would want to. If I was in your place, I
would obey my mother in spite of all the wicked young people who disobey their parents,
and in spite of all my inclinations to disobey her. Why would I shorten my days on earth
to follow my own dangerous will to disobey her and bring sorrow to her and upon your own
life. Disobedience to parents is a mark Satan puts on those who follow him into hell, Rom.
1:28-32.
When I was eleven years old, my
mother asked me to quit playing cards. I had just begun, led into them by others, but I
quit. I thought she knew best what was good for me; and after God took her, I kept on that
was till this good day--away up here in old age, where the twilight shows streaks of an
eternal Day.
You keep this letter until you
are more mature and on up through your life, and you will like it better.
You only have a few more years
to obey your step-father and your own mother "in the Lord", never to come your
way again.
G. W. S. Ware
