I Am A Rich Lady

Do you remember the Little Rascals movie in which Spanky, Stymie and the others found a treasure chest in a cave? Their eyes popped out of their heads when they saw all those delightful treasures. They packed their pockets full of coins, jewels and precious gems, then tried to walk home with their pants bulging. Then, sure enough, their pockets burst and there went all the jewels, just spilling out onto the ground; Spanky and Stymie just stood there, with nothing to say. Just -- "wow. I'm rich, and yet there it all goes. And it's okay."

I feel like Spanky and Stymie right now.

Let me explain.

This summer I met a new friend. Her name was Carol. Carol was 74 years old. She attended our church and always sat near us in the pews, but we never got to know her, I'm ashamed to say. She walked slowly, with a cane, and just came to church faithfully every week and sat in that same seat and worshipped the Lord quietly.

However, she was not quiet at her place of residence. Carol lived at a place called Tower 43. She was called affectionately by our church the "resident evangelist" at Tower 43 because she was responsible for bringing quite a few people to the Lord during her time there. She brought new members to our church. She would frequently call the church office and ask for prayer for new and old friends and family members. She regularly attended the Bible study at Tower 43. She was always making cookies and food for her neighbors there. I think if you were her neighbor, then you were her friend. She was that type of person.

Well, anyway, Tom and I had been writing these 30-day devotionals for our church body, and Carol was reading them. I didn't know that until she started writing us thank-you notes and telling us how much she appreciated them. I also found out that the very act of her reading them was astounding, because in addition to her other medical troubles, Carol was also half blind. But this did not deter her in her pursuit of reading God's word and meditating on it.

One day this summer she wrote us a note and specifically asked us to come visit her. With trepidation we piled our kids in the car and drove over to Tower 43. I was so afraid the kids would break something in her apartment. I was afraid the whole visit was going to be a disaster as kids typically don't like these kinds of visits. Boy, was I wrong. This lady was ready for us. She had cookies. She had candy. She had chocolates. She laughed and whooped and smiled and when Jenna went over to hug her, her eyes got really big and she just ate up that hug like it was the best thing that ever was given to her. (Well, actually, Jenna's hugs are pretty great. That's why we renamed her "Jenna Joy" - she gives people joy just by being herself. She and "Aunt Carol" got along great.)

Aunt Carol (that's what she told us to call her) told us all about her life. She told us how she and her dear husband Paul ministered at Word of Life camp at Schroon Lake in the Adirondacks in New York. This just happened to be a camp that I had attended in high school, that had a powerful effect on me spiritually, and I could not believe she had spent years of her life ministering there.

After she told us her story, she just encouraged us by telling us she "needed" our next devotional (which we had been dragging our feet on finishing); she told us she was ready to go to heaven, but that there was still work to be done here, and so whatever the Lord willed, she was fine with that. I figured, oh this lady has years of work to do left, she's just expressing a peace with her life.

I immediately warmed up to this lady and relaxed. The visit was so unexpectedly fun and encouraging, and we had so much in common, that I thought to myself, "I really like this lady and I hope we become friends. I wanted to get to know her better." We left Carol's apartment that day and I told Tom, "Something tells me this was an important day." Little did I know.

Well, as usual I dragged my feet on going back over there, and two weeks later, her nephew told us at church that Aunt Carol was in the hospital as she had maybe had a slight stroke. That day, after our regularly scheduled nursing home visit, I drove over to the nearby hospital where Aunt Carol was. She was astounded to see me, but very happy. She felt she had just had a small stroke and was hoping to go home the next day. I held her hand and she encouraged me and I got to pray for her.

Well, she never made it home. I prayed for her during the week and sent a card, hoping she would get better, but she didn't. I do not know the details, but the next thing I knew (this was just about a week later), Pastor said she was near death.

Jenna and I drove to the hospital to see her on the Friday of our church's Vacation Bible School and Jenna danced for her. Aunt Carol was very weak but she saw Jenna dance and she told us she loved us. She told me that our family had such a wonderful ministry and she encouraged us to keep on with it, and not to give up. (How did she know I needed to hear that at that very moment?) She said she was sorry she would not get to read our next devotional, and that she was ready to go home to see her Paul, and she said she loved us. I begged her to get better through my tears. Selfishly I was not ready to see this new friend slip out of my grip so quickly. It wasn't fair.

She passed away four days later. I lost my new friend just as I was getting to know her.

So why do I say that I am rich, you might be asking? I'll try to explain.

Carol gave me many gifts during our short friendship. She gave me, among other things:

1) encouragement. "Keep playing that piano!" "You have a wonderful family". "You have a wonderful ministry." This just made me hold my head higher and feel like I wanted to keep pressing on in areas where I had been feeling very discouraged. Wow!

2) a smile - her smile was so infectious. She was just so friendly and inviting to us.

3) a sense of humor. She was hilarious.

4) hope. This lady did not lack hope by any means.

5) faith in the knowledge of where she was going. She was looking ahead to her new home and her new body. She was sure of it.

6) truth. She reminded me, "We are not meant for this world. We are just passing through. This isn't all there is." She did not get caught up in the things of this world. She desired heavenly things, not earthly things.

7) short-term training in how to be a friend. If you lived near her, she had to pray for you. If she met you, she wanted you to have some cookies.

8) short term training in evangelism. If she met you, she wanted you to meet her pastor. She felt this worked more effectively than saying, "Would you like to come to my church?" She said it "worked every time!" She expressed interest in everyone she met, and interest in their spiritual condition.

9) humility. She told me, "I made some mistakes." But she said, "You can't change the past." You don't hear this very often in this age of accomplishment and striving for earthly successes.

The above gifts were given to me in about a four-week period of time. Right now I feel so rich, I feel I am just like Spanky and Stymie with my pockets bulging so greatly that they're needing to spill out onto the ground. And I am dumbfounded and filled with - could it be - joy? I just didn't understand my feelings at her funeral. I just bawled and bawled. This can't be joy. This is grief! so many people still need her! Including me!

As the days have gone by, I am starting to realize that even grief and tears are gifts that she gave me.

Today my pockets are filled with gifts: of joy and grief and pain and wonder and hope and all kinds of things I do not understand. She gave me so much I just don't know what to do with it.

So I am praying to God with these bulging pockets and asking Him to show me what to do with these gifts. I am thanking Him for the gifts that He gave me through his servant, Aunt Carol. She was not here just to minister to me, I know that; and she didn't have to do it either; but she did, even though she was close to death. She gave of herself to all she encountered, until the last minute. In this way she showed me Christ. She gave me the ultimate gift. The gift of Christlike living.

I pray that as my pockets continue to spill out onto the ground, that I will be willing and able to share the gifts. Help me, Lord, to not try to hurriedly gather the gifts back up and shove them back into my pockets. Help me to realize that this life of mine needs to be open and spilled out and given to others. Help me to be more like Carol - and help me to be more like You. Thank you for this indescribable gift of eternal life. Thank you for your servant, Carol Logan.

I am, indeed, very rich. Praise God.