MY PARENTS
REV. HENRY & MRS. RUTH JAMES
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”
Exodus 20:12
“The love and guidance my mom and dad gave me have shaped me into the person I am today.”
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”
Exodus 20:12
“The love and guidance my mom and dad gave me have shaped me into the person I am today.”
I and the eight siblings that followed are extremely and exceedingly blessed to have had two very godly parents who taught and lived by the word of God. They were both ministers and were highly respected and loved in the various communities in which they ministered. My mom died in January 2017, and my dad in March of 2023.
Both parents were extremely involved in my vocational and spiritual lives. In addition to daily family devotions, my mom was highly active in my spiritual formation at home, while dad did his portion in his activities as the pastor. Subsequently, I would become his Associate Pastor, which opened several doors of opportunity for ministry. It was a pleasure to work with a very godly man, who loved persons, loved God, and loved ministry, and gave me opportunities to develop into the minister that I am today.
An early childhood memory was my nightly prayers with my mom, even though we had family devotions that morning. Whatever the topic of the prayers, I had to pray nightly asking God for forgiveness for all my sins. I vividly remember occasional protests that,
“I had not sinned that day,” however, my mom would have her standard response, “I know you have not sinned today, but you still need to ask God for forgiveness.” Whenever I get confused in life, my mind wanders back to my mom’s confusing and enigmatic response. I have told some friends that on my fifth birthday, I envisaged God having a discussion with Jesus, and noting that, that young boy in Dominica had built a reservoir of forgiveness which would out do his lifetime, to which Jesus nodded in agreement.
Another early childhood memory was my mother’s penchant for storytelling, just prior to going to bed. That inclination of storytelling continued till her death. Anyone who visited the home had to have a story shared and expounded. On many occasions I felt that she was in the process of constructing new stories as she was speaking. When I would challenge her as to the novelty of her stories, she would respond by launching another new story. I learnt you can never outdo your mom. As a child I was many times eager to get to bed, but I had to listen to a story. However, prior to being released to bed, I had to give the moral behind each story. I remember many a time preempting her while she delivered the story, I would expound on the moral of the story. That methodology succeeded, and I would then be allowed to drift into my world of dreams.
Last year in 2023, plans were being made to celebrate my dad’s 96th birthday on March 13. It was to be a weekend of celebrations. I had bought my ticket to fly to Atlanta. Three weeks prior to his birthday I had a dream and a subsequent vision. The location of the dream was the place where I was born, and where dad preached for several years. I was awake after the dream, and then my dad entered my bedroom, he laid his head on my chest and wrapped his arms around me and reminded me of his love for me. He released himself and then began to slowly float horizontally towards the ceiling and then disappeared. Immediately, to my right there appeared a picture of Prince Philip (the late husband of the late Queen Elizabeth), and soon after a series of index cards began to descend from the bedroom ceiling. I then asked God as to the meaning of this vision. I was told that just as Prince Philip came close to his birthday but did not make it, neither would my dad. The index cards were a list of persons who came close to their birthday but died prior to that date.
I then realized that Dad’s time on earth was coming to a rapid conclusion. His health began to decline and then he was eventually given a day or two to live. As his musician since the age of ten, I was very familiar with his most loved hymns and worship songs. So, on March 3 as we all realized that the end was approaching, I decided to cancel all activities and spend the day meditating and listening to his favorite songs. Somewhere around 3pm I received a call to say goodbye, which I did. I continued in meditation. Around 4:30 pm, something very strange occurred. I was lying in a supine position. Suddenly, my body felt extremely light. It was as though the force of gravity had been removed. I felt that my right arm had vanished, and for a moment got slightly scared. I immediately took my left hand to check if my right hand was still attached to my body. Thankfully, it was. Soon after I received a call indicating that dad had passed into eternity.
There are some things in life which are immeasurable. One of those is having godly parents, who loved God, and loved persons regardless of their status in life. They showed me what true Christian love and discipleship is all about and for this I am eternally grateful.
Both parents were extremely involved in my vocational and spiritual lives. In addition to daily family devotions, my mom was highly active in my spiritual formation at home, while dad did his portion in his activities as the pastor. Subsequently, I would become his Associate Pastor, which opened several doors of opportunity for ministry. It was a pleasure to work with a very godly man, who loved persons, loved God, and loved ministry, and gave me opportunities to develop into the minister that I am today.
An early childhood memory was my nightly prayers with my mom, even though we had family devotions that morning. Whatever the topic of the prayers, I had to pray nightly asking God for forgiveness for all my sins. I vividly remember occasional protests that,
“I had not sinned that day,” however, my mom would have her standard response, “I know you have not sinned today, but you still need to ask God for forgiveness.” Whenever I get confused in life, my mind wanders back to my mom’s confusing and enigmatic response. I have told some friends that on my fifth birthday, I envisaged God having a discussion with Jesus, and noting that, that young boy in Dominica had built a reservoir of forgiveness which would out do his lifetime, to which Jesus nodded in agreement.
Another early childhood memory was my mother’s penchant for storytelling, just prior to going to bed. That inclination of storytelling continued till her death. Anyone who visited the home had to have a story shared and expounded. On many occasions I felt that she was in the process of constructing new stories as she was speaking. When I would challenge her as to the novelty of her stories, she would respond by launching another new story. I learnt you can never outdo your mom. As a child I was many times eager to get to bed, but I had to listen to a story. However, prior to being released to bed, I had to give the moral behind each story. I remember many a time preempting her while she delivered the story, I would expound on the moral of the story. That methodology succeeded, and I would then be allowed to drift into my world of dreams.
Last year in 2023, plans were being made to celebrate my dad’s 96th birthday on March 13. It was to be a weekend of celebrations. I had bought my ticket to fly to Atlanta. Three weeks prior to his birthday I had a dream and a subsequent vision. The location of the dream was the place where I was born, and where dad preached for several years. I was awake after the dream, and then my dad entered my bedroom, he laid his head on my chest and wrapped his arms around me and reminded me of his love for me. He released himself and then began to slowly float horizontally towards the ceiling and then disappeared. Immediately, to my right there appeared a picture of Prince Philip (the late husband of the late Queen Elizabeth), and soon after a series of index cards began to descend from the bedroom ceiling. I then asked God as to the meaning of this vision. I was told that just as Prince Philip came close to his birthday but did not make it, neither would my dad. The index cards were a list of persons who came close to their birthday but died prior to that date.
I then realized that Dad’s time on earth was coming to a rapid conclusion. His health began to decline and then he was eventually given a day or two to live. As his musician since the age of ten, I was very familiar with his most loved hymns and worship songs. So, on March 3 as we all realized that the end was approaching, I decided to cancel all activities and spend the day meditating and listening to his favorite songs. Somewhere around 3pm I received a call to say goodbye, which I did. I continued in meditation. Around 4:30 pm, something very strange occurred. I was lying in a supine position. Suddenly, my body felt extremely light. It was as though the force of gravity had been removed. I felt that my right arm had vanished, and for a moment got slightly scared. I immediately took my left hand to check if my right hand was still attached to my body. Thankfully, it was. Soon after I received a call indicating that dad had passed into eternity.
There are some things in life which are immeasurable. One of those is having godly parents, who loved God, and loved persons regardless of their status in life. They showed me what true Christian love and discipleship is all about and for this I am eternally grateful.
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