By Miles Layton

Since Mother’s Day is Sunday, I thought I’d write a feature story seeking the secret of motherhood. Instead, what I got was an inspirational message of faith that applies not only to motherhood but also to being a better person through faith and service to humanity. This story originally appeared in the Roanoke Beacon.

PLYMOUTH — Ask Glenda Fields the secret of good motherhood and she doesn’t hesitate.

“There is no secret,” she said. “And if there were, my secret is Jesus. I only do what I do because I love him. And if I’m a good mother, it’s because of him.”

Fields, owner of Fields Five and Dime on Washington Street in Plymouth, is marking Mother’s Day this year the way she marks most days — greeting whoever walks through her door, giving what she has, and trusting God to make up the difference. She is the mother of three and grandmother of six, but her definition of motherhood has never been limited to the people who share her last name.

“Because of being a mom, I am a mom to everybody,” she said. “It’s a God thing for me, really.”

This Mother’s Day, she plans to spend time with her 88-year-old mother and her grandchildren. But she also expects to be at the store.

“I can celebrate with all the mothers that come in,” she said. “I can give them a great big hug and tell them that I love them. I’m just grateful to be here. Grateful that my mom is here.”

Faith as Foundation

Fields attends Pentecostal Temple Church of God in Christ at 200 Rankin Lane, pastored by Wilbert Jackson Jr. and First Lady Iris Jean Jackson, where she serves as an usher — greeting worshippers at the door on Sundays. It is, she suggests, not so different from what she does at the store every weekday.

Her faith is not a compartment separate from her work or her motherhood. It is, she says, the whole thing.

“I wake up, I put my feet on the ground and I’m grateful,” she said. “Everything I do, I do it because of him. I walk in this door because of him. The people that I greet — it’s a God thing.”

She paused, catching her breath. Business was moving.

“I’m breathing hard because I’m busy,” she said, smiling. “Everything I do is because of it. I contribute my spiritual life, my God, to making me who I am. I really do. And I don’t take that lightly.”

The prayer she carries into each day is simple: that what people see when they look at her isn’t her appearance or her accomplishments, but something deeper.

“I pray that when people see me, what they see is the God in me,” she said. “Not what I can do, not how I look on the outside — but I pray that my heart really shows. And if you need me, I hope that I can be a mom to whoever.”

A Life Built Around People

Fields is a born-and-raised Washington County resident, mother of Latoya Davenport, Tremaine and Clayton, and grandmother of six. Before Fields Five and Dime, she managed a home health agency around the corner and before that owned another small business, Bare Necessities, across the street. The throughline in every chapter of her working life has been the same.

“All of my jobs have been people,” she said. “I love people. So everything I’ve done has involved people.”

She opened the store 15 years ago as she was winding down the home health operation — a business heavy on Medicaid paperwork and administrative burden. It was meant to be a retirement project. It became something more.

The shop carries a wide range of goods — dishes, clothing, household items — but Fields is quick to clarify that it is not simply a thrift store.

“It’s a store where whatever you need, if I got it, you got it,” she said. “This is not about the money. I do not get rich. Could I give more than I get? But if I could be of help, this is what this is.”

Clothes on a rack outside are priced at 50 cents. For those who can’t afford even that — domestic violence survivors, people experiencing homelessness, those struggling with addiction — the price is nothing at all.

“If you need it and you’re like, ‘I can’t get no money, but I would love a pair of shorts’ — all you have to do is go get it,” she said.

A Mayberry on the Roanoke

Fields describes Washington County with the affection of someone who has had chances to leave and chosen to stay.

“I have met the nicest people here,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to leave Washington County. I always tell people — this is like Mayberry. Everybody, once they know you, they wave, they speak to you.”

She didn’t need long to sum up 15 years behind the counter, three children, six grandchildren and a faith that has shaped all of it.

“Everything’s about God,” she said. “God first.”