This week, I bring you the rest of my story about Mama and my brother.  The changes God showed her in my brother's life would bring her great joy.  ​​

 

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​WITNESS STAND:  VICKIE LAUGHLIN

PART 2:  JIM'S SURPRISE

(Posted here, 3-11-2026)

(part 2 of 2)

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Mother’s Day was coming.  Frank and the kids always did a great job of pampering Mama and me.  They cooked all the meals that day, and did all the dishes.  We could plant flowers, or putter with any other pleasant tasks, but we were not allowed to do any household chores.  It made us feel loved and truly appreciated.

 

In 1989, however, nothing they could have dreamed up would have come close to the surprise Mama received.  After over 25 years of worrying, hoping, and praying for him, my brother Jim would deliver her greatest Mother’s Day gift ever.

 

Without warning her in any way - without telling ANY of us, in fact - Jim showed up in Pennsylvania a few days before Mother’s Day.  He had made the 2800-mile trip by car, towing his motorcycle.  He wanted to surprise her for Mother’s Day, and he had succeeded admirably. 

 

But, his presence wasn’t the gift he had brought for her.  Well, not the ONLY gift, anyway.  The biggest gift was in his condition.

 

By May, 1989, Jim had been clean and sober for over a year.  He had not called or written any of us about it.  He hadn’t said a word about his sobriety in all of that time.  He didn’t want to tell her until he was sure it was real.  He wanted to be sure he would succeed.  Then, he wanted her to SEE him clean and sober. 

 

So, he showed up unannounced.  Mama could not have been more thrilled. 

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As it turned out, Jim fell in love with Pennsylvania.  He found a job, and found out where the AA meetings were.  He even rented a place to live, on a nearby lake.  He ended up staying in Pennsylvania nearly a year. 

 

The first time he had us all out to his place for dinner, he nearly burst with pride.  “Do you realize,” he asked Mama, “that this is the first time I’ve ever had you visit MY house?”  He was absolutely beside himself with joy.  So was Mama.

 

God had not only heard her prayers for Jim . . . He had answered them in the best way possible.  He had made sure Mama had seen the miracle of Jim’s healing with her own eyes.  She could now rest easy where her oldest son was concerned.  She knew he would be okay.  For the rest of her days, she cherished the knowledge that Jim was alive, sober, and genuinely happy.

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NOTE:  Mama lived the remainder of her life knowing that Jim would be alright.  He had beaten his addiction, and she was thrilled with that.  As for James . . . he lived the remaining 22 years of his life clean and sober.  He was an active member of AA, and worked hard to build up the AA group in the town where he lived.  He was instrumental in securing a permanent building in which they could meet.  He was well like and widely respected.  Many members of that AA group credited Jim with saving their life.  In his later years, he became a successful truck driver, and found a love that filled a gap in his soul.  

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Much to MY great joy, both of them made peace with God before their Earthly life ended.

 

 

 

To His Glory . . .

          BJ, Jan, Kelly, & Amy

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