We had homecoming at our little country church today. We celebrated 210 years as a body of believers. To get a feeling of how long ago people gathered to establish Goshen Baptist Church, James Madison was the 4th president of our United States and the country was fighting the War of 1812.
I love Homecoming Day because I get to see some of the people who have moved on to other places and churches but do come “home” to our church to celebrate with us. So, a lot of joy bounces around the church building on Homecoming Day, but it’s also a time to miss those who’ve gone on to the Great Homecoming in heaven.
Today I missed one of my dearest Goshen sisters who always sat on the other end of the pew from me. You know how church people are. They have their regular pews and we had ours. We used to tease one another if one of us didn’t make it to church on a Sunday that our pew was unbalanced with one side high like a seesaw with only one person on one end.
Grace was such a wonderful lady that all of us at church called her our “amazing” Grace. And she was amazing. She moved into our community about a mile from the church building when she was in her middle years. For a while, she kept going to her home church on the other side of the county, but eventually the drive got long for her and her husband. They decided to give our church a try. We were blessed when she decided to become part of our church family. Her smile lit up the church every Sunday.
When we had dinners, she was there bringing some of her delicious dishes and making sure everybody had plenty. She made the most delicious cabbage casserole and a butterscotch dessert that I wanted to hide from everybody else and take home with me. And sometimes she made it just because she knew I liked it. I returned the food love by always taking my green beans that she liked so much. Every summer, I would pick some just for her. She always had a lot of company at her house for dinner but she would say that her guests weren’t getting any of those beans. She’d wait and cook them all for herself.
At Bible School she served the kids Kool-Aid and cookies with a smile. Kids loved her. Everybody loved her. In all the years we sat on that same pew at church, I never heard anyone say the first contrary word about our Grace, and I never heard her say a contrary word about anyone in church or out. She lived her Christian beliefs.
We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won’t need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don’t fire cannons to call attention to their shining- they just shine. – Dwight L. Moody
Grace’s light always shone. But the years roll by. She lost her husband and then her only daughter died unexpectantly in her sleep. Still, Grace trusted in the Lord. She never stopped believing she would have “Victory in Jesus,” her favorite song. One year, I picked that song for one of our morning hymns. That was after Grace was older and didn’t always feel well enough to make it to church. She wasn’t there that morning. So, I told the congregation we would keep having it as one of our Sunday morning hymns until Grace made it back to church. And we did. Later when age finally caught up with our Grace and she had to go live with family and then at a nursing home, I recorded us singing “her” song to send to her.
You can see that even after she was in the nursing home, she never stopped smiling. Never stopped trusting in the Lord. Her sister, in the picture with Grace and me, said that one of the last times she and Grace’s granddaughter visited Grace at the nursing home before she died, they sang hymns with her. Of course, one of those hymns was “Victory in Jesus.” That is a victory Grace won.
The life that I touch for good or ill will touch another life, and that in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place my touch will be felt. – Frederick Buechner
So, today at our first Homecoming without our “amazing” Grace, I missed her. She certainly touched my life for good and she touched many other lives for the good too. Her Christian faith and love is still vibrating through the world.
Up in heaven, she is, no doubt, singing a new victory song.
Do you have a special person at your church that brings sunshine with them every week? Someone “amazing” like Grace?
Here is Grace right after she got married. She warmed many hearts with that beautiful smile.
Comments 18
A wonderful story of a dear woman named Grace. Thank you.
Author
She was a dear woman, Linda. I’m so glad you liked reading about her.
Thank you for your wonderful tribute to my Aunt Grace. She was an amazing lady and I loved her so much. I know she is happy now being with Uncle Stewart and Cousin Ruth Ann.
Author
You were blessed to have Grace for an aunt, Teresa. She did love her family and was so happy when they came to visit her. She drew people to her. I was blessed to sit on the same pew in church with her for many years. And I do miss her.
What a wonderful tribute this lady. I enjoyed reading about her. There was a lady named Millie and I miss her so much.
Author
I’m glad you had a sweet lady full of amazing grace in your life too, Lucy. What a gift a friend like that can be.
The older you get the more people you miss…
I miss Paul Hughes who could play anything on the piano by ear. He could transpose a song to your key just by listening to you. His special music, whether for the offertory, or at any other time just flowed joyously from him. I am sure he is loving the music of Heaven.
Doris Alford. I miss her. She could be ornery but that was part of the reason we loved her. If you became ornery with her, she gave it right back but always followed up with a smile and often a hug. She had many trials at the end of her life, but no more now!
One more that I miss- my Dad. He couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket and knew it.But when his little church needed someone to lead music and nobody else volunteered, he made that ” joyful noise” with great enthusiasm .Everyone missed it once he was gone because somehow, he always made you smile.
Some day our reunion in Heaven with all of these will be wonderful. The older we get, the more we have a waiting us there! 😊
Author
Thank you for sharing about those in your life full of that special grace, Robin. What a gift all three of those people were to you. I smiled at your descripiton of your dad leading the singing. Sometimes, maybe all the time, spirit matters more than staying exactly on tune. My singer husband might not agree, but it’s certainly true for me. 🙂 I have seen a lot of the older people I so greatly admired at our church move on up to heaven. As you say, that great reunion awaits.
Thank you for sharing such a wonderful story of your Grace and your church. Those of us with church” families” are so fortunate. She was truly a beautiful person, and yes, we have such a person in our church family, going strong at 89 years young… I think your church and ours have been blessed with these angels! They are true inspirations.
Author
A loving church family is such a blessing, Lynda. I began attending the little church where I’m a member right after I married. The older members opened their hearts to me and were always ready with an encouraging word and a smile. I learned so much from them. They were an inspiration.
I pray your sweet amazing Christian lady in your church has many more years with you.
Such a wonderful memory. I know you miss her.
Author
I do, Pamela, but she was in such constant pain the last few years of her life with arthritis. I know now she’s pain free and happy now. And waiting for her family and friends to join her someday. That would have been her prayer while still here on earth.
What a great story. Grace sounded like a lovely person everyone would enjoy knowing.
Author
They did, Connie. Every Sunday, family and friends would show up at her house where she welcomed them with a smile and some of her delicious cooking. She was much loved maybe because she loved so much.
Maxine is the special person that comes to mind for me.Maxine is 87 years old and has been a member of our church since she was a young teen.
Maxine is such a kind soul and makes every person feel like they are the most special person in the room.
Author
Sounds as though you have and “amazing” Maxine, Lisa. That was always how Grace could make people feel too. And you know what? I’m guessing you are that kind of person too and that your church family loves you in a special way too.
I bet that your amazing Grace would be smiling a huge smile if she read your tribute to her, Ann. I actually have several people in our church who I thought about while reading this. There was a woman named Jean in our church who wrapped me in a hug like she had known me for years the first time that we attended services there. So many that have passed on over the years have felt like family to us, which they are since they are our sisters and brothers in Christ. Her husband, Jim was always at the door greeting everyone who arrived and during the main service would always hold the door to the downstairs open until the last person went downstairs for junior church. I pictured him still doing this with his big smile long after he went home to be with the Lord. There are many in our church that I could share stories about who left an imprint of love on many hearts and their smiles will forever be in my memory. I guess that is why the smiles stick so much in our memories because their smiles brought smiles to our faces too and filled our hearts with love.
Author
I like how you word it, Hope, about those fellow Christians leaving an imprint of love on many hearts and how their smiles linger in our memories. A church family is such a gift. If you’re lonely, a church family can welcome you as Jean did you. If you need help, need your spirits boosted, whatever, a church family is a great place to seek what you need along with the chance to worship.
I’m glad you’ve known many amazing friends in your church.