Cherry Parker

The subject of this month's spotlight is Cherry Parker.  Cherry has lived in Orlando since 1969 but was born and raised in Mitchell County, Georgia.  She was born about three miles outside of Sale City, a tiny little town that didn't even have a stop sign or traffic light.  When someone refers to "country living" Cherry knows all about it from first hand experience.

After graduating from high school most people in her community headed to Albany in order to find work and Cherry was no different.  There she not only found work but also met her husband and was married in 1955.  Both of her sons were born in Albany before her husband's work had them moving from city to city.  He was in the wholesale optical business and was constantly finding better opportunities and they would move on.  Finally in 1969 they found themselves in Orlando and Cherry has been here ever since.

Today Cherry works for one of her sons who has taken over one of the optical businesses started by his father.  Making low vision eyewear for those that suffer from central vision impairment (like macular degeneration) is the service the company provides.  She works at home answering phones which she says can be great but does have it's drawbacks.  Generally If an employee has a bad day at the office they look forward to getting away and going home.  For Cherry it doesn't work that way; she's already at home.  On the other hand she can dress comfortably, in a pair of shorts and t-shirt if she wants, and there is no one to complain.

People who don't know Jesus as their personal Savior tend to think about God only when things aren't going well.  It seemed that when there was a death in her family that's exactly what Cherry did.  She would attend church for a while then put God on the back burner until the next time. She knew God was calling her to Him but it took a while for her to respond.  It was probably a death in the family that brought Cherry to Southside in 1999.  The difference this time was she continued to attend.  She again felt God calling her to make a commitment to Him and in July of 2000 the Holy Spirit gave Cherry the courage she needed to take that first step in making a public profession of her faith in Jesus.  She then followed Him in believer's baptism.

Cherry enjoys being outdoors whether it's fishing, working in her yard or just sitting outside relaxing.  There is one thing she enjoys even more and that is spending time with her three grandchildren, two boys and a girl.  Cherry hopes to retire soon so that maybe she'll be able to do a little traveling, something else she finds a lot of fun to do.

One of her favorite memories from growing up in the country is about her grandmother.  Her grandmother, a very devoted Christian, would be in church at every opportunity.  Cherry remembers one particular time when there was a tent revival going on in the area.  Not wanting to miss even one meeting her grandmother didn't mind at all being picked up in a horse and buggy, the only available transportation that night.

Cherry is one of our more quiet members, but Southside and it's members are special to her.  She is also another important part of our Southside family.