A Son’s Testimony Regarding His Mother, Clarien Dixon
Exodus 20:12 Ephesians 6:1-4
I want to thank all of you for your outpouring of love and generosity to us in the loss of our Mother. I want to acknowledge that she has passed the torch to the new matriarch of the family on her mother’s side, Olivia Hall. The patriarch of the family John Norris is also here. I am third in line, so I asked John and Ronnie to try to not live to long because I wanted my chance at the top.
I asked my mother recently, what was one of the happiest days of your life. Without hesitation she said the day I got married. She and our father were married almost 50 years. There were times when their marriage got pretty rocky. Years ago before they knew the Lord, alcohol would turn them both into different people. They had some very rough arguments and physical fights. I remember one fight as a kid when I was about 12, in which I intervened and I hit my father in the head with a wrench. He carried a little scar on his head for the rest of his life. We were in the front yard, he stormed into the house and said you’re going to pay for this. Our father had a rifle in the bedroom closet.
I just knew we all had just a few minutes left to live before he came out with that rifle. My father stormed out the house and when he came back out he was carrying my saxophone case. I think he said, “I’m not getting you another instrument.” That was the best news I could have heard. Our father never brought up that night again.
I remember riding with my mom, and the song came on over the radio, “Neither one of us wants to be the first to say goodbye.” She said, that describes me and John.
You see, many years ago, even before I was in high school, they had decided to file for divorce. They went and got divorce lawyers and were sitting in the lounge area of the law office. My father said he looked in and saw her lawyer laughing and joking with his lawyer. He told his wife, those guys don’t care anything about us, you want to just forget about this and go home. She said yes, and they went back home together and started over again. That was the last time they went to see lawyers about a divorce.
I also remember how they worked together to get us things for Christmas, and for our birthdays. I remember them taking us to Tatnahl lake to ride in the speed boat. I remember Jackson Chapel and Easter Egg Hunts. I remember Hubbard Chapel and Big Sunday meeting days when I got to eat fried chicken and pound cake together. I remember that despite the rough roads, they truly did their best to help us succeed in life. I remember them teaching that family is important and you open your doors when family needed you to do so. I remember them coming to know Christ and what a difference that made in our home and in their marriage. They both became true servants of the Lord.
Back in May when the doctor told our mother she should no longer live by herself after some begging, pleading and negotiating between Gregg, Reggie, mother and myself, she agreed to go to Cleveland for a month. She and I drove to Cleveland alone together and she talked nearly the entire trip. It was wonderful.
She told me so many stories about our family and about herself. She would pause and look up at the clouds and say that one looks like a rabbit and sure enough it did. We had so much fun with her identifying different things in the clouds and me trying to see what she saw.
When our mother’s health declined so rapidly over the last few weeks, I became her principal care giver. People would say, you’re doing such a great job taking care of your mom. But I wanted to say, “she’s my mom and I owe her nothing but the best I can give. She always gave her best for us.” It’s an honor and a privilege to be called her son.
Our Dad, once made a prophecy and I’m not sure who he told it to, but he said with absolute confidence, “If something happens to me, Clarien doesn’t have anything to worry about. Those boys are going to take care of her.” Reggie, Gregg, I want you to know, John Dixon Sr. would have been proud of the way we’ve taken care of his wife, our mother in the past 14 plus years since he’s been gone. His prophecy has been fulfilled in the way we looked after our Mom. His confidence in his sons was well founded. Well done my brothers, Well Done.
