“‪I’ve been firing up a long time for my journey, but now I’m almost home. God has shown me the Golden Chariot. Arouse, awake, sleep no more; Jesus does all things well.” After a moment’s hesitation, she continued: “Tell the women to stand together, for God will never forsake us.”
Harriet Tubman, reported by Mrs. Mary B. Talbert, president of the Empire State Federation and the National Association of Colored Women. February 26, 1913

(New York Age, 27 Feb 1913, Thu)

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“I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can’t say — I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger.” Harriet Tubman at a suffrage convention, NY, 1896.

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“I had reasoned this out in my mind; there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty, or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other; for no man should take me alive; I should fight for my liberty as long as my strength lasted, and when the time came for me to go, the Lord would let them take me.” Harriet Tubman to Sarah Bradford in Harriet, The Moses of Her People 1886

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“…there was no one to welcome me to the land of freedom. I was a stranger in a strange land; and my home, after all, was down in Maryland, because my father, my mother, my brothers, and sisters, and friends were there. But I was free, and they should be free.” Harriet Tubman to Sarah Bradford in Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman, 1868

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“Slavery is the next thing to hell.” Harriet Tubman to Benjamin Drew, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, 1855

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“I grew up like a neglected weed, – ignorant of liberty, having no experience of it. Then I was not happy or contented.” Harriet Tubman to Benjamin Drew, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, 1855

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“..and I prayed to God to make me strong and able to fight, and that’s what I’ve always prayed for ever since.” Tubman to Ednah Dow Cheney, SC, 1865

*******

“God’s time [Emancipation]is always near. He set the North Star in the heavens; He gave me the strength in my limbs; He meant I should be free.” Harriet Tubman to Ednah Dow Cheney, New York City, circa 1859.

From Pastor Brown via my friend Robina Winbush….

A Prayer for Mother’s Day
Eternal God, on this day we lift up mothers to you.

You, O Lord, are the one “who, from our mothers’ arms, hath blessed us on our way with countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.” Scripture has prepared us to recognize that by your grace, mothering takes many forms. We pray for mothers around us . . .

. . . For those who, like Jesus’ mother, Mary, have been surprised by the unexpected responsibility of parenting. Remind us not so much of the circumstance through which children come into the world, but that they are always a gift from you. Help us to always see your image in them.

. . . We pray for those who, like Naomi, find themselves parenting someone outside the predictable patterns of mothering. Bless this day all grandparents, aunts, foster parents, adoptive parents, and kindly people who care for children.

. . . And we give thanks for those like Ruth who become caregivers for their elders. Because the generations that need to be mothered and the seasons of our lives can change, we sometimes find ourselves mothering those who have even forgotten who we are. We take strength in knowing that you remember their identity when they no longer do. Grant courage and strength to all those who provide care in your name.

. . . We pray for those who, like Hannah, have struggled with the task of letting go of a child. Teach us to support our children, even when the calling of their hearts does not meet our greatest hope for them.

. . . We pray for those like Mary or Rachel who have known the deepest agony of a child’s death. Remind them again that nothing can separate their child from your certain love. Give strength and peace to those who mourn and those who cannot stop mourning.

. . . Despite our best efforts, families are breeched and broken by death, disaster, or disagreement. Help us, like Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, to regroup our families in confident hope that in due season wounds shall be healed and oneness restored.

. . . On this day we set aside to remember mothering, we also call to mind those men who are called to the vocation of mothering, those who, in the absence of another, seek the heart of a Mary or a Rachel. Let us renew our commitment to uphold them this day.

Loving God, the bond between parent and child can be the most intimate and nurturing of our lives. When this is our experience it is indeed a foretaste of your realm. To remember mothers on one day is not enough. So, fashion in us a people who pray, work, laugh, and weep with mothers and children in whatever circumstance best reflects your own great love. For this we seek your grace and presence. Amen.