How do you stir up to love and noble deeds and helpful activities?
My Aunt Lou went home to Jesus this morning, April 5, 2021 at 12:59 AM this morning. As I drove home from the hospital and laid down to bed, all I could do was smile thinking about how happy she is right now. I am grateful to have so many happy memories. Hebrews 10, verse 24 reads, “And let us consider and give attentive, continuous care to watching over one another, studying how we may stir up to love and helpful deeds and noble activities.” How does one stir up others to love and helpful deeds and noble activities? Well, the way Mary Lou did it was through example.
Her heart was open to meeting and helping and loving anyone, especially her family and friends. How else do you offer to raise someone else’s 6-month-old baby until you’re no longer needed when you’ve got 3 little ones and one on the way without an open heart? The way it’s been explained to me, there was no hesitation. Floyd’s twin brother, Boyd. You gotta love those names: Floyd and Boyd. When Boyd’s first wife died, she took care of Danny, his 6-month-old son a number of years until Bloyd remarried. Now if that’s not a noble activity, I don’t know what is.
When her brother’s wife died, my mom, Lou impressed upon my dad the need for me to have a womanly influence in my life, and so I spent my summers in Raleigh until I came to live with them at the age of 16. Lou and Floyd were empty nesters at the time and they took me in and loved me as their own - something they did with any young person that they met. Giving, and loving so much so that I never felt like I was in their home because I was in my home. Another noble activity.
When Boyd’s 2nd wife died, Lou would go to their home once a month while Jenny, Boyd’s 15-year-old daughter wasn’t home and she’d deep clean the house and prepare a meal for them. She was busy doing helpful activities. If she knew of a need and thought she could fill it, she did.
Open to giving. Open to loving. Not holding anything back.
In In May of 2017, when she was 89 years old, she and I traveled to PA to help my sister-in-love prepare for her son’s rehearsal dinner and wedding. Lou matched me step for step right up until the wedding when I told her that she was off-duty and needed to sit and visit. She was not afraid of work. Work is good. Many a good work can equate to a helpful activity. When she was just a few months shy of 92 years of age, she had my son, Jackson and Jenny’s son, Brantley over for dinner because they are close in age and she thought they’d enjoy getting to know each other.
If you were a visitor at her church and she didn’t know you, she was sure to introduce herself. And if you were alone, she’d be sure to sit with you. If she was coming to your house for dinner, she’d bring something to contribute to the meal. If you had a sink full of dishes, she’d start washing them. They may not be as clean as you’d like, but she’d get in there and do. If she came for a visit, she’d ask, “what can I do to help you this week? Laundry, cooking, cleaning, shopping - you know all those things that need to be done every week to help make a house a home - she didn’t think twice about doing those things. If she could, she would.
She was not without her struggles.
I remember her sharing about a time she was not happy with a decision someone made. She told me that she had to get on her knees and give it to God, and she asked God to help her love in such a way that would be pleasing unto Him. And I’m here to testify that she did exactly that. I remember another time after Floyd died, she shared with me that she had a real pity party that day, but it was over and she was gonna be happy that Floyd was with Jesus and get busy loving her grandchildren.
What is life but the sum of what we choose to do with it? And we get to choose.
Lou chose to love God with all her heart, all her soul, and all her mind. She chose to love others as herself. She gave it all. She held nothing back. She stayed open.
And so, leading by example, she showed me what it means to give attentive, continuous care to watching over others, stirring them up to love and helpful deeds and noble activities.
In one of my last conversations with her, she said to me something along the lines, “Patti, thank you for all you do to make this old woman happy.” And I said, “Thank you Lou. You’ve always been doing and making others happy.” And she smiled up at me and said, “Yes, and I’ve loved every minute of it.”
I don’t know about you, but I’d sure like to live my life in such a way that when I get to be 93 years old, I can say that I loved every minute of it. We can’t do it in our own power and strength, but only through the power of Jesus Christ.
If you don’t know Jesus on a first-name basis, Lou would want me to extend this invitation. Ask Him to be your savior. Ask Him to be your Lord. He will help you love Him and He will help you love others so that you can love every minute of it. Thank you.
Her heart was open to meeting and helping and loving anyone, especially her family and friends. How else do you offer to raise someone else’s 6-month-old baby until you’re no longer needed when you’ve got 3 little ones and one on the way without an open heart? The way it’s been explained to me, there was no hesitation. Floyd’s twin brother, Boyd. You gotta love those names: Floyd and Boyd. When Boyd’s first wife died, she took care of Danny, his 6-month-old son a number of years until Bloyd remarried. Now if that’s not a noble activity, I don’t know what is.
When her brother’s wife died, my mom, Lou impressed upon my dad the need for me to have a womanly influence in my life, and so I spent my summers in Raleigh until I came to live with them at the age of 16. Lou and Floyd were empty nesters at the time and they took me in and loved me as their own - something they did with any young person that they met. Giving, and loving so much so that I never felt like I was in their home because I was in my home. Another noble activity.
When Boyd’s 2nd wife died, Lou would go to their home once a month while Jenny, Boyd’s 15-year-old daughter wasn’t home and she’d deep clean the house and prepare a meal for them. She was busy doing helpful activities. If she knew of a need and thought she could fill it, she did.
Open to giving. Open to loving. Not holding anything back.
In In May of 2017, when she was 89 years old, she and I traveled to PA to help my sister-in-love prepare for her son’s rehearsal dinner and wedding. Lou matched me step for step right up until the wedding when I told her that she was off-duty and needed to sit and visit. She was not afraid of work. Work is good. Many a good work can equate to a helpful activity. When she was just a few months shy of 92 years of age, she had my son, Jackson and Jenny’s son, Brantley over for dinner because they are close in age and she thought they’d enjoy getting to know each other.
If you were a visitor at her church and she didn’t know you, she was sure to introduce herself. And if you were alone, she’d be sure to sit with you. If she was coming to your house for dinner, she’d bring something to contribute to the meal. If you had a sink full of dishes, she’d start washing them. They may not be as clean as you’d like, but she’d get in there and do. If she came for a visit, she’d ask, “what can I do to help you this week? Laundry, cooking, cleaning, shopping - you know all those things that need to be done every week to help make a house a home - she didn’t think twice about doing those things. If she could, she would.
She was not without her struggles.
I remember her sharing about a time she was not happy with a decision someone made. She told me that she had to get on her knees and give it to God, and she asked God to help her love in such a way that would be pleasing unto Him. And I’m here to testify that she did exactly that. I remember another time after Floyd died, she shared with me that she had a real pity party that day, but it was over and she was gonna be happy that Floyd was with Jesus and get busy loving her grandchildren.
What is life but the sum of what we choose to do with it? And we get to choose.
Lou chose to love God with all her heart, all her soul, and all her mind. She chose to love others as herself. She gave it all. She held nothing back. She stayed open.
And so, leading by example, she showed me what it means to give attentive, continuous care to watching over others, stirring them up to love and helpful deeds and noble activities.
In one of my last conversations with her, she said to me something along the lines, “Patti, thank you for all you do to make this old woman happy.” And I said, “Thank you Lou. You’ve always been doing and making others happy.” And she smiled up at me and said, “Yes, and I’ve loved every minute of it.”
I don’t know about you, but I’d sure like to live my life in such a way that when I get to be 93 years old, I can say that I loved every minute of it. We can’t do it in our own power and strength, but only through the power of Jesus Christ.
If you don’t know Jesus on a first-name basis, Lou would want me to extend this invitation. Ask Him to be your savior. Ask Him to be your Lord. He will help you love Him and He will help you love others so that you can love every minute of it. Thank you.
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