Generational Curse Removed of Abuse to Forgiveness
Jesus loves me, this I know For the Bible tells me so
I vividly recall the circle of little wooden chairs in a small vestibule behind the sanctuary at Montgomery Presbyterian Church. I was between three and four years old. In the tiny vestibule we sang “Jesus Loves Me’ knew that my mother loved me. I knew that my Aunt Geraldine loved me as well. When I was six years old, a piano was moved into the sitting room of our house. On Thursdays my mother would drive my father to work then come back home in order to drive me to piano lessons12 miles away. I have no doubt that my Aunt Geraldine paid for the piano and probably the lessons. My aunt also bought me new winter coats and a watch with tiny diamonds. All because they loved me!
My mother was a sweet child of God. The Wilder family legacy was one of faith and gentle spirit. The Mob family from whence came my father carried forward a legacy of anger, alcoholism, and unrelenting bitterness. This legacy was manifested in a generational cycle of physical and emotional abuse among the five Mobley s (My father was the oldest) and alcoholism caged in co-dependence on the part of the one Mobley daughter. The two youngest boys clung to their mother and were emotionally and mentally disturbed throughout their lives.
I learned later that children raised in an abusive household will respond in different ways. Most common is normalization of the abuse. Thus continues a multigenerational cycle of abuse or co-dependence. Less common is a fierce will to not repeat nor tolerate the behavior. I experienced this in dating years, when any show of anger would drive me away. I escaped the noisy environment at home by retreating into books. My favorites were “Heidi” and “Anne of Green Gables”. Was it coincidence that they chronicled life as an orphan? Along the way I became an excellent student, the pride of my parents and family. I was the only child of seven to graduate from high school, the only Mobley to graduate college.
At the age of 15, God placed a young man in my life. He sat in the back of tenth grade French class. I hadn’t noticed him, but he tells me now that my legs drew his attention from the back of the class. I always sat in front. Well, God would use more than a French class to accomplish his purpose. A month or so later, I was walking along the deserted beach on Daufuskie Island, South Carolina. My father loved Daufuskie, a remote barrier island where he could escape the noise and stresses of an industrial power terminal where he worked swing- shift. On Daufuskie he could also drink, dance and party with his island friends. Not a recipe for long life. He succumbed to a major heart attack at age fifty-six, but not before I came to understand him and through forgiveness, love him.
Back to the young man. As I was walking the beach, this fellow was standing at the water’s edge balancing a slalom ski. Chuck and his family frequented the Daufuskie beach for picnics, swimming and water-skiing. What a coincidence! He recognized me from French class and I nodded and smiled. Thus began a 58-year romance with our 53nd wedding anniversary approaching soon.
God’s blessings have been beyond measure. Beginning with the immeasurable love and devotion of my husband. A story punctuated by the birth (not an easy one) of our precious son. These blessings have culminated with an amazing daughter-in-law and three incredible grandsons.
The story doesn’t end here. Through a series of “coincidences” I have met and worked together with a cousin from Louisiana (remember the Mobley daughter) to develop a genealogy and gather family history. Genealogical research reveals the tragic experiences that have formed the Mobley Legacy. The reuniting of the Mobleys was begun in 2003 with the first annual Mobley Cousins Reunion. Those whom God has rescued through faith in Jesus Christ have led other cousins to leave the hurt and unforgiveness behind them, to be washed away like footprints from the Daufuskie sands.
Jesus loves you!