Loretta, A Super Prayer Warrior

Prayer becomes more meaningful as we counsel with the Lord in all of our doings, as we express heartfelt gratitude, and as we pray for others. (David A. Bednar)


Do you have a special prayer warrior in your church? One of those people you better not ask to pray for something you want unless you're really sure you want the prayer answered because it will be. We have a prayer warrior like that in our little country church. Loretta is an example of faithfulness and love. 

We went to her house tonight to help her celebrate her 99th birthday that is coming up next week. At her age, you can celebrate every day for a month if you want to. Loretta told us she has been a member of our church for seventy-five years. She gave her life to Christ as a young teen before she married at age sixteen. She and her husband, who died several years ago at age 96, moved their membership to our church when they bought a farm in the neighborhood. She said they used to go all around the area and gather up children to bring to Bible School. Recently, she had been going through some of her things and found the worker certificates she received for working in Bible School in 1957 and 1960. She'd kept them all these years and had them to show us tonight.  

Another thing she has kept all these years is her devotion to the Lord. Every day she reads His word. Every day she prays for her family and friends and for her church. Every day she thanks the Lord for His blessings. Even on the hard days. 

This week is a good time to visit Loretta. To rejoice with her in a life well lived. She is the mother of five, the grandmother of many and yet she makes time to pray for the others in her church family. A true prayer warrior. 

As you read or listen to God's Word and spend time talking to Him in prayer, your spirit will eventually become stronger than your flesh. (Joyce Meyer)

That's where Loretta is now. Strong of spirit and not as strong of body anymore. But she's still remembering that the "knee" is an important part of the church family when it's bent in prayer. Proverbs 31 could be written about Loretta. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates. (Proverbs 31:31)

I have been so blessed by Loretta's prayers for me. Do you know someone like Loretta? 

Almost 98 Years Young

Our church went to visit a very special member tonight. Loretta will be 98 next month. We were a little early with her birthday cake, but she didn't mind. She was quick to tell us the age on the cake was wrong. She was proud to claim that extra year even if it is a few weeks until her birthday. 

Loretta is an amazing woman. If her picture were in a church annual with Biblical descriptions, beside her picture would be all the good fruits of the spirit, faithfulness, kindness, love, joy, peace, patience and goodness. And on top of all that, she remembers everything about the old days and about the new days too. 

She's had some rough spots in her nearly 98 years. One of the roughest was losing her husband a few years ago after 76 years of marriage. But she soldiered on then and continues on today. Still living in her own house. Still cooking and cleaning for herself. Still sewing. She just made new cushion covers for her kitchen chairs and a new valance for her window. This is after having carpal tunnel surgery in December. At the danger of repeating myself, there is only one word for Loretta - amazing. 

But maybe the very best way to describe Loretta is to say that she is a prayer warrior who walks daily with the Lord. She reads her Bible through every year and prays for her family and for her church family too. She's one of those people you'd best not ask to pray for something unless you're sure you really want it to happen. 

A few years back, her youngest son found out he had a brain tumor. The doctors were not optimistic, but he was because he knew he had his mama lifting him up to the Lord. When the doctors were giving him only a short time to live, he told them, "You don't know my mother." And they didn't, but the Lord sure does. It's been several years since Joe's diagnosis and his journey hasn't been easy, but he's still on it. He's gotten to see his son graduate from high school. He's gotten to hold his grandchild and he gets to keep hugging his mama's neck. What a treasure she is to her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and even a few great great grandchildren. And what a treasure she is to her church family and to me!

We love you, Loretta! You have blessed us with your prayers and your love, and we thank God for your example of faithfulness. 
 
Thanks for reading!
 

Love, Trust, Tolerance and Tenacity - Threads in the Fabric of Life

"The heart of marriage is memories; and if the two of you happen to have the same ones and can savor your reruns, then your marriage is a gift from the gods." (Bill Cosby)

The picture is fuzzy, but it is the first moment of my married life. We got married in the little country church my husband's family attended. We still go to that church these many years later. That's where a lot of those shared memories that we can rerun happened as we got up every Sunday and went to church, first as a couple and then as a family when the children came along. 

But of course, we have many other memories too. Working on the farm together. Figuring out how we were going to make ends meet when the refrigerator died or the car quit running. Nursing our kids through all the childhood fevers and illnesses. Sitting in countless church pews while Darrell sang with various Southern Gospel quartets through the years. Building a house and then building on more rooms. Watching ballgames. Freezing at track meets and band competitions. Being proud when our kids graduated high school and college. Sharing the ups and downs of a writer's life. Seeing our kids find good partners to begin their own married lives. Caring for our parents as they grew older. Grieving for loved ones who went on ahead of us. Feeling blessed each time a grandchild was born. Sharing family reunions and holidays. Celebrating anniversaries. 

“A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance and tenacity. The order varies for any given year.” (Paul Sweeney)

We just celebrated one of those anniversaries yesterday. My romantic husband sent me flowers, but I had to laugh when I opened up the little card to read the note. All it said was "Dear." I guess when you've been married as long as we have, the words run out. What I really thought perhaps had happened is that the flower shop people got distracted and forgot to finish the note. But no, that wasn't it. My first comment about the words running out is closer to the truth. Darrell says he told them to put "Happy anniversary, dear." But the card already had Happy Anniversary printed on it, so all they needed to add was the dear. Made for a few smiles and who knows? Maybe another one of those memories that will get rerun at times. 

Do you have some of those rerun memories? Stories that have been told a zillion times but one more telling is still fine. You know, like the day we went out to get a cow trying to have a calf to the barn and Darrell goes to the barn to call the cow from there and leaves me to head the cow that way. The cow was having none of it and decided to charge me instead. A bit bruised and battered later, I inform Darrell if he wants the cow in the barn he'll have to herd her there himself. So many stories. So many years. So many threads that make the fabric of our life together. 

"Chains do not hold a marriage together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads, which sew people together through the years." (Simone Sigornet)

Thanks for reading and thank those of you who wished us Happy Anniversary yesterday. We even got a card in the mail from my 97 year old church friend, Loretta. She is an amazing woman who has five children of her own and heaven knows how many grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren, but she remembers our anniversary and my grandchildren. And on top of that she's one of those prayer warriors that unless you really want it to happen, you'd best not ask her to pray about it. 

Remember, you still have time to leave a comment here to have a chance to win Jan Watson's books. New comments on a new post gets you a new entry. I'll draw for the winner on November 27. Also you can throw your name in the hat over on Thoughts of a Sojourner to win a copy of Christmas at Harmony Hill. Check out the rules Mark posts after his review of my book. Heather, Gideon and Sophrena are making the rounds on a blog tour now with Christmas at Harmony Hill. So the reviews will start showing up and I'll hope for good ones.