Tiffany: My Mabel

This is an article that I wrote about my grandmother, Mabel Brady, for the Unity Baptist Church bulletin. She was an unbelievable woman that touched so many lives. I am so blessed to have had her in my life and to carry her memory with me each day. Her legacy lives on in each of the lives she changed and each of the hearts that she helped to lead to Christ, including mine.

"Prayer warrior. Those two simple words can describe the life and legacy of Mabel Bryant Brady. She was a loving wife, mother, sister, aunt, mother-in-law, Mam-Maw, friend, and neighbor. Mabel married Jeff Brady on November 23, 1957, the day they began a life of service, love, and laughter together. Their new little family began to grow with the births of their sons, Randy and Barry. Years later, the family tree grew again when Barry married Nancy, and they had one daughter, Mindy Brady Forsman. The tree grew even more when Randy married Cemmie, and they had two daughters, Tabitha Brady McKay and Tiffany Brady. She was the sister to three brothers, and sister-in-law to fourteen others. Needless to say, the number of lives she touched with her love and grace within her family and within the community is immeasurable.

Mabel was a stay-at-home mom, which really meant fantastic cook, immaculate housekeeper, delightful Sunday school teacher, and patient baby-sitter. She had many titles, including champion cherry pie maker, notorious chair sleeper, lover of polka-dots, social butterfly, fantastic hugger, unequivocal "Red Light, Green Light" player, obsessive weather watcher, and most importantly, a walking testimony for following God’s will. The scribbles in the prayer notebook beside her Bible were so much more than a list of names. She reverently, deliberately, and constantly prayed over each name. She prayed for their well-being and their healing, for their future and their past, for their problems and their blessings, and for God’s will to be done in each of their lives. She was a prayer warrior.

Mabel left this earth to walk the streets of gold on June 15, 2001. She may be absent in body, but she still surrounds us with her spirit. Close your eyes tight enough and you can feel her loving hug. If you never had the privilege to meet Mabel Brady just look around at one of the lives she touched or one of the souls she helped win for Christ, and they will tell you her story, the story of a true woman of God."