PREFACE

It is true that the journey of life begins with the very first step. However, mine began on

January 23, 1950, two days before I was born. My mother was pregnant with me and

narrowly escaped death in a natural catastrophe, but by the Grace of God she was

rescued.

This book is devoted to detailing my life, a journey in Grace. I was born and grew up in

extreme poverty, and God blessed me to rise above it to heights that no one would

expect given the many difficulties I have faced. This book is a testimony to the

faithfulness of God, the blessing of righteous parents, and proof-positive that God is

faithful to those who lean on Him. I hope that it also serves as an inspiration to those

individuals, especially the young, who feel helpless due to the enormous challenges

they face each day while attempting to better their lives.

My mother, Mrs. Malinda Wolfe, was one of the greatest people that ever lived. She

was a God-fearing woman who understood the power of pray and raised her children to

walk in God’s ways, no matter the obstacles they faced. I wish everyone had a mother

as devoted as mine. With only an eleventh grade education, she accomplished much

as a homemaker, wife, mother, evangelist, and gospel singer by the Grace of God.

From my earliest childhood I intuitively knew what my mother was singing about when

she would go to her room or a corner of the house to be alone. There was something

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holy and unique in how she reached out to the Sacred World. I came to enjoy listening

to her sing and pray, even when some of what she did and how she chose to do it

seemed other-worldly and wholly incomprehensible. Could God really be listening to

the moans of a woman in the poorest part of the Arkansas Delta, and is He really with

us in our times of trouble? Now, as I look back over my life and all the experiences and

difficult situations that God allowed me to overcome against the odds, I fully understand

that my mother was talking to God through Jesus Christ.

Mother Malinda went home to rest at 7:47 p.m. on December 31, 1995, shortly after an

audience of approximately one thousand two hundred watched her begin to sing “One

Day at a Time” at the New Year gospel program I produced and hosted that evening.

She had preceded the song with the prophetic words, “Tonight I’m going to sing to the

angels.”

My mother would have wanted you to read these words she had begun to write six

months before going home to glory. They will serve as the foundation from which my

life story unfolds, and allow me to fulfill my mother’s wish to tell her own story, albeit an

unfinished endeavor. Her spirit has been a guiding force throughout my life, and at each

turn and with each life challenge, Grace is my Passport.

Minister James E Wolfe, Jr.

Jackson, Tennessee

Date

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