From the Heart
Jackie Carter, Laverne Houser, Donna Cecil McNeely, Hazel Box, Dollie Wainscott, Virginia Sherley, Freida Street and most of all, Audrey Hart.
These women may not have known the way to Bethlehem, but they knew the way to Jesus.
As a child, I watched them live out their faith. You see, my faith was entrusted to them. They were not Bible scholars or teachers or preachers. They simply lived as scripture taught them.
For me, they brought the scriptures to life. They lived lives like that which is taught in I and II Timothy in the New Testament.
They loved me well. They showed me and so many others what living by faith meant.
Their lives were not without complications and heartache. They just knew that God would be faithful in their lives. They lived with hope and they lived with joy, even though they knew tragedies and the unfairness of life.
Most of them have gone on to hear the words “Well done, good and faithful servant” as they entered heaven. My mother and her dear friend Jackie Carter are still with us still, showing us what a life well lived and loving well looks like.
It was in the wee hours of Sunday morning, this past week, that I again received a call from Jasmine, the night nurse at Prairie Lakes, letting me know that my mother was being taken to Saxony Hospital. She was not doing well.
I’ve often said that I know the call is coming, eventually, letting me know what I dread. I had no idea so many calls would come before it, which would cause my anxious heart to fear the worst. As I tell my mother, “God still has plans for you, even at 94.” It’s Saturday morning as I write and she can now say she has survived COVID and sepsis.
Among the family and friends who are my “go to” prayer warriors is Corinne Gunter. Our history goes back some 25 plus years when I was her Sunday School teacher. She thought I would appreciate the message that morning that was given by Julie Earlywine, the pastor’s wife at Mercy Road Church Northeast.
I watched it, online, from my kitchen table. It was so good that I watched it again, taking notes in my Bible in I and II Timothy.
It was her words, “It is not what you are doing, but how you are living your life that makes a difference,” that got the attention of my heart as she named the people whose faith had made a difference in her life.
She asked, “Who are the people in your life that are watching your faith being lived out?”
“It’s not the task that changes people … it’s your life.”
It’s when we go through hard and difficult times that we seek and find who God really is in our life. We often look back at those who have gone through similar circumstances and see how they handled the pain. They give us hope.
I know the people whose names I typed at the beginning of this column did not have easy lives, but they did know that in the midst of their heartache that God would be with them. They knew the words to the song “Great is thy Faithfulness,” but more importantly, they knew, personally, the one who was faithful.
Our greatest challenge today seems to be finding joy in the midst of our pain.
Finding joy in the days ahead after returning from the graveside of a child. Imagine that happening three times.
Living with breast cancer and dying from it at a very young age, leaving behind a small child and loving husband.
Losing one’s eyesight and having to depend on others for the things we all take for granted.
Knowing the heartache and humiliation of having a minister husband leave them for the church treasurer.
I saw how these women lived with their pain. They showed me what hope looked like.
They knew the pain and unfairness of life, yet … they had a voice that told of their God and His faithfulness. Nothing would steal their joy.
I watched them. I heard their voices. The names most people would not recognize or remember, but I do, and because of their example they have made a difference in my life.
To whom has your faith been entrusted? Is your life making a difference in the lives of others?
It’s not about the journey to Bethlehem but who you are seeking.
Their heartache was great but their faith was greater. I witnessed it.