Thankful people: Marble Hill woman been through much and remains thankful

Sharon Bawden of Marble Hill, Missouri, greets each new day with a thankful heart.

The 69-year-old great-grandmother has survived illness, loss and uncertainty in her life, yet declares she has been blessed.

"I'm a cancer survivor," she said. "I've had 18 operations and a 20-pound tumor the size of a bowling ball on my thigh. I've had 88 staples."

Nearly 15 years ago, Bawden lost 260 pounds, then regained more than 100 pounds. Within the past year, she had major surgery, losing 98 pounds before surgery and 25 pounds since.

She once wore a size 5X; now she wears sizes small and medium. Once confined to a wheelchair, she now walks a mile around Twin City Park every day, using a walker. Though her doctors had ordered her to remain homebound, Bawden said as long as she was able -- and she made sure she was -- she was going to church.

Sharon Bawden is shown at her heaviest.Submitted photo

"For 50 years, I've been in home missions work," she said.

In home missions, Bawden visits shut-ins, helps those in need and witnesses to people.

Today, she serves on the board of the First Church of God in Marble Hill, where she and a friend minister to people, clean the church, help with the church's distribution of free donated clothes and help in the soup kitchen. She teaches Sunday school and visits people in nursing homes and residential-care centers.

"I know what they're going through," Bawden said. "Many years ago, when I was in my 20s, the Lord filled me with the Holy Spirit. He gave me a great compassion for others. You have to go through some things yourself. There were numerous times in different hospitals he used me to lead others to him. There were nurses, roommates, and they got saved. He allowed me to go through a lot of things so I can have empathy."

Bawden was living in her native Kentucky and working in a children's home when she met Merle Bawden of Pennsylvania through a Christian pen-pal club.

Sharon Bawden and her late husband, Merle.Submitted photo

They shared a love for music and for the Lord and eventually for each other. Merle was a hardworking heavy-equipment operator for Bethlehem Steel in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

The two also shared a love for the rich, Amish food Merle had grown up with, and both of them were severely overweight; it affected their health.

Her husband's health worsened until he had to stay in a nursing home, and later, he was sent home to die. Bethlehem Steel had gone bankrupt, and the couple lost their health insurance.

"I cared for him until he died in his sleep," Bawden said. "I am truly thankful God did not call that man back. I believe with all my heart he is with God, and I'm thankful for every moment, even though he was disabled."

The winter her husband died, a blizzard hit, immobilizing the community. There she was, homebound, grieving for her husband and lonely. She remembered when her husband was alive, the two had bought a real-estate book, and Merle had marveled at how much more affordable property was in Missouri.

He had read about properties in Marble Hill, and before he died, he advised her to sell their house in Pennsylvania and move to Marble Hill. She would have enough money from the sale to live on after she bought a house here.

"We had never heard of Marble Hill before seeing that magazine," Bawden said. "It was God's doing."

God led her to learn how to drive and to take a computer class so she could become self-sufficient, then led a person to her doorstep who wanted to buy her house.

Once she settled on Opossum Creek Road, she became involved in church and in her beloved home missions. Later, someone suggested she call a woman who had lost her husband to Alzheimer's disease and needed support. The two became fast friends and mission partners.

"It's amazing how much she and I have in common," Bawden said.

She and Elaine Barker share not only a friendship but a tract ministry, and they leave their inspirational messages at tables in Jer's Restaurant.

"The Bible teaches, 'Take up your cross and follow me,'" Bawden said. "I haven't begun to go through what my Lord went through. He said we would go through trials and tribulations. He promised he would be there, and he has."

Today, Bawden is a thankful woman. She has lost weight and continues to eat healthier food and walk her mile around the park. She has her ministry work, which she loves. She lives on Social Security, but her home is paid for, and all her bills are paid on time in full. She knows no matter what happens, God will take care of her. He always has.

"I am looking forward to serving the Lord," she said. "I love the life he has given me. I have fallen in love with Marble Hill and the people here. I love the country and country living. I want to feel my life counts for something."