A starting place for tomorrow
Terry and I just saw the movie “Unsung Hero.” The screen displayed a simple opening statement, “This is a true story.” The success story of Christian singer, Rebecca St. James, is her family's story — off the charts. I found myself drawn to her mother, Helen — portrayed by actress, Daisy Betts.
Helen was mother to a daughter, followed by five sons. She lived in a stunning home on beautiful property in Australia. She was pregnant with their seventh child. Her husband David lost a massive amount of money as a concert promoter in the economic crash in 1991. Life as they knew it went “down under.” They left country, relatives, friends — took a huge risk — and moved to Nashville. They used the last of their money to get there.
The position David expected to hold in the States fell through. The house they rented was not even close to the one they had owned in Australia. There was no furniture — they slept on the floor, in beds made from bundles of laundry. There was no vehicle — they walked. Everyone pitched in to bring in some cash — cleaning houses, mowing lawns. Any money they earned landed on the kitchen table for groceries, and other expenses.
In the movie, stuck to the paneled wall in the bare living room, was a paper marked “Please,” and next to it one marked “Thank you.” All the written requests they put before God in the “please” column were transferred one by one — as they were met — to the “thank you” side.
During their difficulties Helen made her children's lives an enticing adventure — even through her pregnancy, and giving them a “beloved baby sister.” She held her family together with faith. She did not lose heart — though her husband did at times — discouraged over his inability to provide for his family — overcome with the loss of his father back in Australia. She believed in him — in the gift of her family.
Then her talented daughter Rebecca was signed as a solo artist as a teenager, with her dad as her manager. Her skyrocket success brought big changes for the family. Two of Helen's sons eventually formed the popular present day band, “For King and Country.”
To say life turned around for the family who came to America with no money and no friends is to acknowledge this mother, who trusted God, who didn't give up, who poured herself into her family. She is the “unsung hero” for whom the movie is named.
A quote from Mother Teresa flashed on the screen at the close of the story, “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” Helen's husband David admitted later he was too wrapped up in career and business. He said he didn't get it in the beginning when his father told him, “Family isn't in the way. Family is the way.”
It's Mother's Day this Sunday. How beautiful to have been able to be a mother — or have a mother — who is an “unsung hero.” But in honesty, it doesn't work out that way for everyone. Even a friend with whom we attended the movie had a very different story to remember in his life.
What I have is today — the starting place for tomorrow. It is a day I can “go home” and know that beyond human failure to love, I am loved with an everlasting love that comes from God alone. And if I ask, I will find all the love I need to carry forward.