On January 11, 1945, Beverly Mensing was born to her parents, Norman and Beverly. Beverly took the name “Chip,” as she would be called after being told that she was a “chip off the old block.” She was raised in Germany, as her father was assigned to be the mayor of a small town, following World War II. On her mom’s journey on the plane to Germany (she was pregnant with Chip’s younger brother Brannon), the plane that carried her lost 2 of its four engines, each bringing the certainty that they would not survive the trip. They did.
When Chip left the house in Germany when she was a little child, she left with 2 trained boxer dogs, who would circle her at a great enough distance not to scare her, but close enough to scare anyone the dogs did not recognize that tried to approach her. When an artist was commissioned to paint a portrait of her at 2 years of age, the only way the artist could get her to sit still was for her to sit on the training potty. That picture is still on display at the Gallman home.
Eventually, the Mensings would settle in Homewood, Alabama, just outside of Birmingham. And it is a good thing: it was in Homewood that Beverly met Rawdon Lee Gallman, Jr., who was the son of a Baptist minister and professor at Howard (now Samford) College.
When “Lee” and “Chip” went off to seminary, they survived many a night on Macaroni and Cheese and Hot Dogs. Chip was a school teacher, and the primary source of income for the couple, who in 1971 gave birth to their oldest son, Rawdon Lee Gallman, III, or me.
My mom has an amazing story. I love you, Mom. I am so grateful for your successful transplant, and that we get to enjoy our talks at lunch, and for your wisdom. I am grateful for how you love Melissa, and my children. And most of all, I am grateful for how you love Dad, and how you showed me how to love.
Each of our moms have or had an amazing story; a story of chance circumstances (or divine guidance), of survival in difficult circumstances, and of perseverance. And if it were not for their stories, and for all of the experiences that made them who they are as people, and their nurturing love, we would not be the people that we are. And we can offer up a prayer of thanks on this day, Mother’s day.
May worship be a blessing to you and your family today.
Blessings, Sonny