Super-centenarian, 116-year-old, Violet Mosses Brown has discovered the secret to living a long and happy life without many of the ills associated with old age.
Deuteronomy 33:25b “Your strength will equal your days”
This Bible verse certainly applies to Super-centenarian, Violet Mosses Brown. Born March 4th 1900, now at 116, Violet still enjoys reading her Daily Bread devotional flawlessly without the assistance of reading glasses. She is still so sharp, she is able to effortlessly recite a poem, The Vision of Belshazzar by Lord Byron, a poem she learned while attending elementary school a century ago. She can recite it without a hitch. For fun Violet listens to music, practices shorthand and typing. So far, her strength is equal to her days.
Violet Brown is a resident in the western Jamaica town of Duanvale, Trelawny. A local news reporter commented, “Mrs. Brown exudes peace and contentment as she sits on her cool veranda, enjoying the comings and goings of the district. Beside her is her 96-year-old son, Harold Fairweather, incredibly youthful in appearance and believed to be the oldest person with a living parent. Harold still lives with his mother as he approaches 100. People complain that their twenty-year-old children are still living at home. Get this; Violet has a 96 year old son still living with her and a 62 year old grandson to boot.
Her son did leave home and live in England for a number of years, but felt it was his duty to come home and take care of his mother. After she is gone, he can return to England to pick up were he left off. Just think of it, many 40 year olds think they are over the hill, with this family, they would barely be starting up the hill.
Often people tell me they don’t want to live to be over 100, much less be a super-centenarian. They feel the quality of life at that age would be so poor that it would be better not live at all. At the age of 110, Violet commented with a smile, “You know, sometimes I ask myself, “Am I really 110 years old?” Because I don’t feel like 110.” Though less active at 116, Brown boasts she is still able to make her own bed in the mornings. Her 96 year old son says she has no major illness, though her hearing isn’t what it used to be.
A local official stated, “This is a woman who we can say contributes significantly to the community. She has been humorous in her discussions, possesses good health, a memory that is outstanding, and, of course, she was the record keeper for all deaths in Duanvale.” Violet kept cemetery records so well that the local government used her record keeping procedures as the standard for all future employees.
This super-centenarian has also been a major help to her family and church community. Her grandson, 62-year-old Vernon Davis described his grandmother as the unifying force in their family. “She was a person who keeps the family together. She has been hard-working,” said Davis, who has lived with his grandmother since his youth. Her family says even at her age she continues to counsels the residents of Duanvale. They enjoy the company of this positive lady, who shares many gems of faith and poetry with them.
Violets influence has gone beyond the borders of Jamaca!
Her influence in her family and community has also spread to other parts of the world as evidence by this story told by her oldest son.
Harold Fairweather, appears closer to 60, than the centenarian he will be in only four years. He spoke animatedly about his experience as a migrant in Sheffield, England. He had applied for a job and was told by the manager that they did not hire blacks. I told the gentleman, ‘When your time comes for you to go to the City Road Cemetery, I don’t think color will matter there. I have a flower garden and I do not see only white flowers there. God made them of various colors. This is God’s world, and all of us are in His beautiful garden.” The gentleman seemed surprised and asked, “Where did you get that from?” (Obviously from his mother). He hired me that day. “I became the first person of color to be employed in that business, I opened the door for other people of color; and would you believe that this gentleman became like a second father to me in England”.
So what is this Super-centenarian’s secret to a very productive, very long, very physically healthy life?
Her son says that Violet is not given to gluttony, but enjoys small meals. He also says, “She likes fish and mutton and sometimes she will have cow foot, but she does not eat pork or chicken”. Her other preferences are sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, breadfruit, and fruit, especially oranges and mangoes. The Bible highly recommends eating mutton (red meat) and fish, it also vehemently commands us not to eat pork.[2][3][4] Violet is getting a lot of vitamin C from the fruit she eats.[5] She also says, “I don’t drink rum and dem tings.”
In my study of super-centenarians, I have not found them to simply be lucky enough to win the genetic lottery, what I have found is that they all do a lot of the same things. And all of the things in common, that they do, are backed up by the word of God and science.
Exodus 23:21, 25-26
“Pay attention to him (the angel of the lord) and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him…Worship the Lord your God and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.”
Violet proudly testifies that her full lifespan has come from obeying God. “I live by the grace of God. At 13, Violet was received into the Baptist Church, where she was told to read Psalm 119, verse 133 — words that she has never forgotten. According to a local reporter, “She declared them to us:” “Order my steps in thy word and let no sin have any dominion over me.”
This super-centenarian declares her greatest joy is the church, “I love the Church,” Brown told reporters.
The energetic super-centenarian also said she credited her long and fruitful life to her respect for family, life, and people in general, as well as a lot of hard work when she was younger. She believes that obeying the fifth commandment, “Honor your mother and father so your days may be long” Exodus 20:12, has worked for her. I believe that it is working for me and that it will work for you and your loved ones as well.
Somebody’s going to live long and strong past 100 years, might as well by you!
5 Biblical principals followed by Violet Mosses Brown, that contributed to her long, healthy and productive life.
- Biblical eating habits.
- Biblical worship habits.
- Biblical relationships with God, family and neighbors.
- Avoidance of sin (missing the mark, things that displease God)
- Steady, hard work.
The Bible does not say that your genetics determine your health. The Bible says your actions determine your healthfulness.
I will admit that, “honoring your mother and father”, was a hard one for me. When I was growing up, my dad had always been a little overbearing, OK a lot overbearing, and even though the Bible says that honoring him would lengthen my days, I struggled with it. After being away from home and returning to work for my dad again, he and I almost went to blows one day in the back room of the golf course we were running. Our church encouraged me to keep trying to honor him, and the more I tried the easier it got. Before he passed away, he and I had some really good talks. A plethora of studies have shown the Bible to be true in this area. One study done by Brummett and colleagues (2001) found that, among adults with coronary artery disease, the socially isolated had a risk of subsequent cardiac death 2.4 times greater than their more socially connected peers.[6] Check out this link for a ton of evidence that points to relationships being a major factor in physical health and longevity. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3150158/
Once again, our purpose for writing each week is to provide you with Biblical advice and examples of people who followed that advice for the care and feeding of their bodies. We share this Biblical advice each week, because it is so rare. We also do it, because we see thousands of good Christians, whose lives have been cut short, simply because they were never taught what the Word of God and the Law of God had to say about health and wellness.
If you believe God knows best, join us and the Wellness Gospel team; register for our weekly newsletter, then spread the word by sharing this with your friends on social media and may God bless you richly.
If you want to keep improving your health, and enjoy this kind of biblical scientific information, then I would like to recommend three must-read books:
- “None of These Diseases” by S. I. McMillen, M.D. and David E. Stern, D http://tinyurl.com/hh7ezs2
- “Let’s Play Doctor” by Dr. Joel Wallac http://tinyurl.com/j8ybt8r
- “God’s Guide To Biblical Health and Healing” by Rev. Chris & Shary Schauermann http://tinyurl.com/zvkbfau
You can get all these books at Amazon.com or simply click on the URL under each book title.
References
- Violet Brown http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100308/lead/lead6.html
- Mutton http://wellnessgospel.net/index.php/2016/07/10/should-we-eat-red-meat/
- Fish http://wellnessgospel.net/index.php/2016/11/19/fish-can-make-you-sick-or-healthy/
- Pork http://wellnessgospel.net/?s=Pork
- Vitamin C http://wellnessgospel.net/index.php/2016/10/10/vitamin-c-granddaddy-vitamins/
- Social/physical connections https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3150158/
