Related by blood, bonded by love

“RISE SHINE AND GIVE GOD THE GLORY!”, This is a phrase that my youngest daughter and I would race to be the first to say to each other every morning. This tradition continued the four years while she was away at college..

For those who know me, know that I’m usually in bed by 9:00 every night. So, I had to laugh this morning because my mom called me (what I would call late) last night and said, “I know you are playing with those ancestors again”.  She was right. Not sure if I’d call it playing, because the more I find out, the more I want to know, and want my family to know…..There’s no resting.

My cousin Luckie (her name is so fitting), is such a blessing to me. I've been researching my family for years, and never in my wildest dreams did I think that I’d be right here blogging today.

It all started with me simply wanting to know the birth and death dates of my maternal grandparents, Zack and Perk Jones. After calling my mom, aunts and uncle for the information, would you believe not one of them knew the dates? They were able to tell me events surrounding their deaths, but never their birthdays. I’m chuckling now, because none of them thought about looking at their birth certificates (it just dawned on me now)! I knew where my grandparents were buried because after I moved to Atlanta, mom and I would have an ongoing joke whenever I would call home. Confusing my sisters’ voices with my mom's voice when I ask, “where’s your mama?” and my mom would reply, “behind Cody Grove”.  Lol!

 Determined to get my questions answered, I went to the internet. I made up my mind that I was going to call Cody Grove Baptist Church in Warrenton, Georgia , and ask them to go outside and get the information from their headstones.  So I googled the name of the church, and my eyes zoomed in. To my surprise, there was a description in one of the sites that asked,  “Where’s Ailey?” My heart started racing! I wanted to know, who was looking for my great-great grandma?!  So, I clicked on the site: ourgeorgiaroots.com. Thank God, this person had their contact name, number and email!  My first instinct was to call, but since it was late, I decided that I’d better send an email and hope for a response by the next day.  I've always pride myself on knowing my family, and to whom they belong to. I received a call right away, and it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. I was on the line with my great great grandmother's (Ailey) sister (Catie’s), great- great-great great granddaughter, my newly found cousin Luckie! I was so excited to hear from a relative that I never knew existed. We compared notes and talked a long time like we've always known each other. Who would have thought that my ancestors would connect a bloodline here on Earth.