I watched him walk to her. She couldn’t make it to him. A stroke claimed her ability to do so.
Two years ago she would have been able to make that journey down the aisle to receive the bread and wine. Today she sat in stillness as it was brought to her, and all I could do was find my tears. I’m not sure anyone else noticed the blessed exchange between her “less” and God’s “more,” but for me it was a privileged invitation to sacred participation.
I amply partook, not just of the elements but of the moment that birthed a true witness to the beginnings of an Easter week … as to what it means to pilgrim from a palm branch to an empty tomb.
Remembrance.
It’s a remembrance that has been a part of Ms. Margaret’s ninety plus years on this earth. I don’t imagine that she’s missed many communions in that time. Because she currently resides in a local nursing home, she is no longer a regular attendee of our church gatherings. Today was the exception. For whatever reason, today was a day that allowed her to come home to a familiar pew and to dozens of familiar faces.
It was good to see her; not just her physical presence, but her faith that continues even though her flesh has relegated her to a state of seeming anonymity. Wheelchairs and inaudible speech cannot confine the witness of a heart that has been claimed by the cross of Jesus Christ. Despite her physical limitations, her spiritual vibrancy remains, and I, for one, am better for the beholding this day.
As I lingered in the moment, the familiar hymn written by missionary Louisa Stead accompanied my contemplation:
Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His word;
Just to rest upon His promise;
Just to know “Thus saith the Lord.”
I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior friend;
And I know that Thou are with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.
Jesus, Jesus how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more.[i]
Sweet trust. That’s what I witnessed this morning. It is a trust that has been birthed between a daughter and her Father throughout nine decades worth of living. A trust that has lingered despite ample heartaches and debilitating health issues that have begged a heart to the contrary. A trust that simply and profoundly says that God’s Word is enough.
That God’s Word is worthy. That God’s Word is willing. And that God’s Word is “… with me, Wilt be with me to the end.”
I don’t know when that “end” will come for Ms. Margaret. I wouldn’t presume to take her one moment sooner from this earth than what God has allowed. Her life still breathes with kingdom purpose. And her King? Well, He’s marked her days from beginning to end, and for now … for this day and, perhaps, for this upcoming week, she’ll be allowed another journey of remembrance to the cross, to the tomb, and to the glorious awakening of an Easter morning.
It is my privilege to walk it with her. It is my joy to walk it with you, ye saints of God, as we boldly approach the throne of grace with a sweet trust that walks in surrendered faith knowing the One who awaits us at the end of the road.
And while Jesus no longer hangs in submission upon a tree, remembering Him there is the worthy pause of our hearts this day … the worthy pause of hearts for always.
The body of Christ, broken for you. The blood of Christ, poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Do it all … live it all, my friends, in remembrance of Him, and do it with a sweet trust that walks a lifetime with the complete confidence in an everlasting grace. This is our invitation to sacred participation; accordingly, may our feet be found on the road of remembrance this week. Thus, I pray…
Let nothing take my focus from your cross this week, Father. Let not the consumption of my “to do list” consume me to the point of forgetfulness. You are worthy of so much more from me. More of my time, more of my thoughts, more of my hands, and more of my heart. Forgive me for relegating your cross to an annual remembrance. May I never lose the wonder of its place in history and its hold over my heart. You have allowed me the daily privilege of lingering in its cleansing pour. Thank you for the blood that has amply paved the way home. Keep me to its path until I safely land at your feet in final resurrection. Amen.
[i] Robert J. Morgan, “Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus,” Then Sings My Soul (Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville, 2003), 210-211.
Oh, what a beautiful post. I want to be like this precious woman, trusting Him sweetly all my days. But for today, most of all. Like the blind man Jesus met on the road those last days, I want to throw my cloak aside and run to Him, leaving everything that entangles behind. Sweet trust. The kind that makes this blind heart see…
You take me to the throne, my sis. Sweetly so.
That’s one of those “precious” songs from my growing years. I have sang it many times…just to HIM.
Trust. That is something He is working on in me—When so many things seem to collide in my life…Trust. Him. Yes, I do.
I loved this post Elaine.
Elaine, thank you for drawing my attention to this Holy week. My days have run together, and I am ashamed to admit that I forgot Easter is approaching.
May my life reflect His triumphal entry, as He lives in me and through me.
Trusting in Him, because He lives,
Joy
I can’t see to type–tears are blinding me! How precious! What we can learn from this darling saint as we remember Jesus during this Holy Week.I love what you said about the to-do list–not letting it get in the way of remembering all that our precious Lord and Savior did for us. Thank you, sweet friend.
Hugs,
Susan
What a wonderful woman you write of. That trust is so sweet, and so simple, but we miss it. Thank you, my friend, for reminding me of my need to strive for it, and to live it.
I just watched the You Tube..I’m going to stock up on Kleenex at Wal-Mart for this week! How precious! Elaine!!!
Love you!
S
Oh Elaine, there is just nothing like the sweet fragrance of a seasoned saint like Ms. Margaret. She is precious and I know that you value any time that you have spent with her and gleaned from her wisdom years!
Looking UPward and Choosing JOY,
Stephanie
[In Flight]
What a solid, 24 karat gold testimony to God's faithfulness. Yes, o'er & o'er … He does all things well!
This season of Passover & passion has gripped me this year like no other. Thank you for adding to the richness of it. You're a much loved dear one!
Kathleen
Tis so sweet….. I san that sone in church for years and years… Just to rest upon HIS promise, just to know “Thus saith the Lord”
Beautiful post..
Beautiful
From my heart,
Sheryl
Thank you for the reminder to pause & reflect this week. Last year I was struggling too much in my new-found faith to really grasp what Easter is and what Easter means.
I only hope & pray I can one day exude the beautiful faith and trust your Ms. Margaret does.
Blessings,
Lindsey
What a beautifully written post. “Her less and God’s more” is a phrase that I need to always keep in the forefront of my mind. He will always take care of my less.
Tis So Sweet…is such a prayerfully written hymn. How I need to trust him more with my life. Ms. Margaret is a fine example of this.
Oh, I do so love elderly saints! Even as a child, my best friends in church were the ones that were my parents’ and grandparents’ age. Now so many are gone, and the ones that remain are so fragile! My dear grandparents are gone, and my mother is approaching 70 and in poor health…but what faith I see in the older faithful ones!
It is one of the griefs of my life that my children have so little access to their grandmother, and none at all to my grandparents. I can’t imagine how my life would have been impoverished without them.
Even those who can no longer speak have great stories to tell. Thank you for helping to keep Margaret’s story going strong.
I love that last verse of Tis So Sweet that you posted, Elaine. I have proved Him o’er and o’er in my life, too, and oh, how I long to trust Him more.
“may our feet be found on the road of remembrance this week” — that’s where my feet need to be. Thanks, friend!
Oh Elaine…you capture my heart with your words, your stir my thoughts so. Holy week. I would prefer not to remember, it pains me to remember what He went through so I could be chosen, that I could believe. Your prayer is my prayer.
I too love this post friend!
In His Graces~Pamela
I love the Ms. Margaret’s in our lives don’t you? Her faithfulness over the years is surely an example for all of us to just trust Him over and over, day after day, year after year.
I too pray for no distractions this week, even knowing that work will be crazy with getting bulletins ready, etc., etc., but I pray to not loose focus on the gift that Easter has given me.
Have a wonderful week Elaine!!
Thank you for preparing me even more for the blessed reminder Easter brings us. I think this woman is blessed to know you and your church family like she does!
I love this post, Elaine. I have a special love and admiration of the older saints in our church family. Their complete trust in the Lord shines through, regardless of their needs. What an inspiration they are!
You are an inspiration too, dear friend. Blessings to you…
wifeforthejourney:
It was indeed a day of celebration. To remember Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and to witness Margret’s triumphant return to her favorite pew. Her many years have seen many trials and testings and she remains a source of encouragement to her family and our church.
Margaret has a strong will and a strong faith to go with it. She has spent these last two years learing to rely on others to help her get around, but this Sunday I was reminded of how she has been “leaning on the everlassting arms,” since long before we were born.
Thank you for lifting up another modern day example of faith in action. This is the right way to start Holy Week.
Love,
Billy
This was a joy to read. People that age either carry the shining countenance of God’s grace, or they are cranky and bitter. I want to be like her.
Hi Elaine,
What a heartfelt post, and such a simple, beautiful song.
I wrote a post about the cross this week, too. Praying the cross is before me not only this week, but always!
Blessings, my friend.
Couldn’t agree more with your husband’s comments…what a beautiful way to begin Easter week. I long to be like this precious woman of God. The sweet trust and faithfulness that comes after a lifetime of walking in faith. Thank you for bringing my focus to Easter so sweetly this day.
Love,
Tracy
Praise God Elaine.
Lord Father, I seek Your path as I follow you to Calvary and kneel at the cross of crucifixion. Thank YOU Lord Jesus for this gift. I pray that each of us seeks out Your trueness and faithful. I trust You Father, Lord Jesus. Thank You, in Your precious name, Jesus, amen.
Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful.
My people come from the back-woods of Tennessee. There is a precious old 2nd cousin of mine who has gone on to meet her Jesus, but remains a strong testament to her faith when remembered by her family. While she walked this earth, she defied the thoughts of many of her generation when she, a woman, preached the gospel at every gathering of people of which she was a part. “Sister Jewel” succumbed to advanced Parkinson’s disease in her late 90’s, but during my last visit with her the year prior to her death, we sat together and sang this song. The violent shaking of both her body and her voice produced what I’m sure were the most glorious of sounds to her Father’s ears. I can’t hear this song now without thinking of her.
With each day that God allows me on this earth, I pray that I can leave such a legacy as my Sister Jewel and your Ms. Margaret.
Elaine,
It’s so sweet how God uses you to give so many of us just the words we need for TODAY! Whatever day that may be that we read it…it is just for that moment!
I want to trust Jesus more! I tell Him all the time that I need Him to give me more faith, more trust, more wisdom….I’m just so weak and useless on my own! And this may seem crazy but sometimes it seems the harder I try to serve Him, the weaker I get!
Hope you have a most blessed week!
By the way….was that a picture of the communion table in your church? It is beautiful.
Marilyn
A beautiful tribute, Faith Elaine.
True inspiration for my heart.
For me it was my Granny. She had nothing and yet she had everything. I can not remember a time WHEN I was in her presence that she wasn’t happy. She went Home May 2008, what a legacy she has left with me because she prayed me through.
Lovingly,
Yolanda
This is such a moving post! Thank you for sharing your story.
Trust is the key to it all. Not only DO we trust, we know we CAN trust! It is a blessing.
The woman you write of reminds me of my Paternal Grandmother – my “guardian angel” and my first role model for how to live a life of absolute and unquestioning faith in Christ!
Thank Your for recording that prayer at the end…as I know its from your heart…it definitely wraps some words around mine too!
Remembrance. The tension of sorrow and joy, in one lilting word.
“Wheelchairs and inaudible speech cannot confine the witness of a heart that has been claimed by the cross of Jesus Christ.”
These words took my breath away this evening, Elaine. You summarized what I love most about working with the elderly. Their spirits in the face of disability feed my soul. It’s a sustenance I thank God for every day. Thanks for being there and for penning the heart of the matter for the rest of us.
What a beautiful post and a beautiful song. Thank you.
Hope you will stop by my blog .
I am going to have a “card box” giveaway every month. With so many comments, I decided this must be a prize that bloggers wanted.
This drawing will be the last day of April.
Every comment you leave throughout the month will enter your name in the drawing.
This NEW blogger was so touched by all the comments I got on the Blog Party, that I decided to make this a monthly GIFT…
Also, if you mention my blog, telling about the monthly giveaway, you will have your name entered 10 extra times…How is that for an incentive?
I was so blown away by all the responses that I wanted to email each person personally, but TIME… just has not permitted..but I did love reading all of them..I am continuing to introduce my family members and then there will be some fun blogs coming up from Disney World in May.
I am so thankful for all my new friends.
Beautiful post Elaine!
How are you? I feel like I have talked to you in forever. I’ve come up for some fresh air…school work has had me going.
Hope all is well.
Such a testimony, such a life moves me to the depths of my soul. What an inspiring woman of God! You said, “Her life still breathes with kingdom purpose.”
Oh, that my life, now, and always can work toward that mark! Thank you for sharing and for your beautiful words.
Andrea
I haven’t read anything this good, this perfect, in a long, long while…
This reminds me so much of my husband’s grandmother who, at 88, continues to resist the assisted living home with her own brand of faith and 88-year-old spunk. I applaud her, almost alone, because I understand her need to be autonomous and rely on her God to meet her needs. This post reminds me of her. They are both such inspiring women.
I have that very hymn posted on my fridge. A friend that I had encouraged printed it out for me to treasure.
Oh, how we need to treasure our precious elders. We have so much to learn from them… even if they cannot speak.
Blessings!
Wheelchairs and inaudible speech cannot confine the witness of a heart that has been claimed by the cross of Jesus Christ.
May the cross of Jesus Christ claim me and may nothing confine the witness of my heart.
Elaine, I so love how you take the everyday and show how God has used it to impact you on your journey.
Thanks!
Oh thank you so much for sharing this beautiful and wonderful post. It really touched my heart and brought tears to my eye.
Amen girl.
As each day I pick up my cross to carry may I remember the cross He carried so that I would be able to carry mine.
Happy Resurrection Sunday!
How inspiring! Thanks for sharing this.