Mattie Belle Pridgen Hoggard

If I Go First and Leave You Behind Mattie Belle Pridgen Hoggard

'If I Go First and Leave You Behind' is a collection of Christian poems that offers a sincere look into a mother of ten children life's walk with Christ. Mattie Belle Hoggard born 1901, lived during World War I, the 1929 Great Depression, World War II, Korean War and the Vietnam War. She lost three children, two at birth and one at eighteen months. The oldest son, Harvey, flew over two hundred war missions in Korea and Vietnam. Mattie at the age of 71, died in a boating accident July 26, 1972. She and her husband, Clarence, with an elementary education raised seven responsible, honest, and working-oriented children. Forty-eight years after her death, her youngest son, Rudy, has collected her poems. He found them written on magazine covers, inside books, Kleenex box covers, in letters, and just plain paper; anything close at hand to express her love and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Rudy's mother wrote him over 250 letters while he was in the Air Force (1966-71), where some of the poems were collected. She always ended her letters with "God be with you until we meet again," and often sent a one-dollar bill. A dollar went a long way in those days. Behind life's toils you can envision the simple life, a lady resting in her Savior's love. As Mattie Hoggard wrote in one poem, This Road of Life, My Lord has traveled before me a long way down this road. There have been heartaches, sorrows, I could not bear. Then I knew my Lord, was there. He has been with me in heavenly places. He has been with me in the valleys below. With Him no place is hard to go.