About 250 years ago our forefathers fought for the freedom of our country. One of the greatest freedoms we are blessed with today is the freedom of religion (not the freedom from religion, as some would claim). My ancestor, Brantley Mosley, fought in the Revolutionary War, and he was blessed to come home to enjoy what he had fought for.
I was born in 1932, so at almost 94 years of age, I’ve lived more than a third of the 250 years our country has existed. Also, the hymn “Amazing Grace” was written about 250 years ago. God has granted me amazing grace all these years. That has become my favorite hymn. I am bedridden now, but as I lie in my bed, I think of how God has blessed me personally and also the United States of America.
My parents named me after a really good man, George Hinson of Hazlehurst, and they hoped that I would have some of the honorable traits he had. At 6 months of age, I got double pneumonia. With no doctors out in the country and no modern medicines, most babies would have died, but God answered my parents’ prayers, and I lived.
The nation was in the midst of the Great Depression, and America was on its knees. Following the Depression was World War II, and my three brothers fought to preserve those freedoms our forefathers had fought for.
Through it all, God was blessing my family. We were sharecroppers, but at age 16 I was able to get a job as a school bus driver, and this was a great financial help for my family. I had a great bunch of kids on my bus — lrma Tyre, Betty Ledbetter, Mary Flowers and Beth Holland were among them.
When the Korean Conflict came, I joined the Air Force, where I was able not only to serve my country but also to overcome my basic shyness and develop leadership skills. Once again, God was leading, although I didn't give Him a lot of credit at this point.
After the service, I was able to get a job at Rayonier. Here I made a lot of good friends, several of whom had a large impact on my life. Two of them had a great influence on my spiritual life.
One was Edgar Waters, a quiet, hardworking man who carried a New Testament in his pocket. Edgar and I spent a lot of hours talking about the meaning of life and the Christian faith.
The other one was Don Lawson, the mill manager. He knew everyone who worked at the mill and always had time to talk with you if you needed anything. He was a compassionate man who lived his Christian faith.
On a union trip to Atlanta, I met a young man at the Capitol. He had no legs and part of one arm missing, and he was grinning from ear to ear. He was Secretary of State Max Cleland, and he was happy and serving people because God had let him live when he was injured in Vietnam. His motto was 'Let go and let God.” We became great friends, and through this contact I was able to get help for several people who had problems on the state level. Soon, friends began to urge me to run for state representative.
The problem was that we had two respected men, Roger Byrd and Lundsford Moody, serving our area. Besides, I didn't have a lot of money. I did have one huge blessing from God, though — my wife, Linda. She always encouraged me and helped me with whatever my project was.
All of a sudden, God opened a door. We had reapportionment, and I ended up in an open district. I asked Dink Ne-Smith whether I could do a guest editorial in the paper, and he said, “Sure.” My goals for Georgia resonated with the people, and with God's blessing and the help of some wonderful friends, I was elected.
When I heard the results, I bowed my head and asked God “to give me wisdom and to help me remember where I came from.” Dink has been one of my sounding boards ever since.
The first budget vote, I was the only Democrat who voted “no.” There was nothing in the budget for my district, but I got the other representatives’ attention. The first year, I was put on the Transportation Committee, and my fourth year, I was put on the Appropriations Committee that draws up the budget. We were able to get for our area 70 miles of four-lane highways connecting us with the ports, the C. Paul Scott Polytech Center for the college, and the Anne Frank exhibit at the college.
When the Anne Frank exhibit was coming to Georgia, I approached Eric Denty and Dr. Scott about bringing it to Jesup. The lady in charge said that the exhibit crew couldn’t come to any place smaller than Savannah, but Eric and Paul said, “Let’s invite them to Jesup.” We felt that it was important to show everyone the horrible results of hatred and prejudice. They came, and we had 5,000 visitors in two weeks come to our college and view the exhibit.
In 2000, a lady was piloting a spaceship, and I had the idea of a proclamation naming that year the “Year of the Woman.” Again, a God thing. Wayne County had four women who were given statewide honors: Amy Denty, the Georgia Teacher of the Year; Barbara Struckhoff, the Girls’ Softball Coach of the Year; Dr. Claire Hicks, the Doctor of the Year and Lois Thornton, the Baptist Sunday School Teacher of the Year. We honored them in the legislature, and someone asked me whether we had any men in Wayne County.
At age 74, I retired from the legislature but was urged to run for the Satilla REMC Board of Directors. There I served for 12 years, and I was also selected to serve on the GSOC (Georgia System Operations Corporation), the Georgia REMC board of 13 members who control all rural electric power flow for the state.
At 88, I decided to retire for good. I didn’t know that God was going to bless me with over five more years to enjoy my family — we just had our eighth great-grandchild, Tate Lawson Mosley!
You may not go into politics, but every one of you has God-given talents that He wants to develop in you. Get into a good church, bring up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, find a way to help make life better for your fellow man, and ask God for wisdom. He will give it (James 1:5). I’m living proof. May God bless you.
Mosley formerly represented Pierce County in the Georgia House of Representatives. He served from 1992-2006.
