In a world where many seem obsessed with gaining the next big emotional high, it is often the lesser moments, when we are able to see God’s faithfulness, that bring us sustained joy. Lamentations 3:22-23 reminds us, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (ESV). Indeed, this past weekend has been exceptionally good for me, and I am thankful for God’s faithfulness and never-ending mercies.
On Thursday, my wife Judy had a successful aortic valve replacement, and Friday morning, she was released from the hospital to come home. I am so grateful we live in a time when advanced heart procedures are not as dangerous and invasive as open-heart surgery, which would have been the likely procedure for her a decade ago. Judy’s procedure did not require intensive care and a week of hospital recovery. Instead, many of today’s heart valve replacement patients are released the next day following the procedure. The next day! Although Judy’s heart valve was leaking at dangerous levels prior to Thursday, within 24 hours, she was up and walking around with a new lease on life! God has answered our prayers, His mercies never end, and we are incredibly grateful.
Listening to the radio on the drive home from the hospital, I recognized the voice of my friend Junior Bridgeman. A sports radio station was replaying Denny Crum’s funeral service from a week earlier, which included a eulogy from Junior. It was a joy to listen again to Junior emphasize Denny’s commitment to Christ as his greatest accomplishment. What a powerful testimony to a secular audience! Indeed, “‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him’” (Lamentations 3:24 ESV).
Our grandson Andy graduated from the Christian Academy of Louisville this past week, and his baccalaureate service was Thursday evening, and he was to be one of the main speakers. However, Judy’s procedure prevented us from attending. So, when we arrived home from the hospital on Friday morning, Judy and I watched a recording of his speech. When it was over, we were both so choked up we could barely speak. Although we may be biased grandparents, we thought it was excellent!
Later that day, I asked our neighbor, Bonnie Huggard, to “senior-sit” with Judy for a couple of hours so I could attend Andy’s commencement ceremony. As I watched my grandson and 160 graduates of the Christian Academy of Louisville proceed down the sanctuary aisle of Southeast Christian Church, my mind raced back to the school’s beginnings in 1975. In those days, CAL consisted of a handful of students meeting in classrooms of three area churches — Clifton, South Louisville, and Southeast. Once again, I was thankful to have been a small part of establishing CAL and grateful for God’s great faithfulness, which has blessed the school for nearly 50 years!
As I sat through the ceremony with my son Phil, a CAL board member, his wife Lisa, and their two other children, Corrie and Chapman, I was thrilled to see Andy receive an award, which was a surprise to us – and him! Of course, he was not the only student to receive an honor, but, after all, he is my grandson, and it made me proud.
I left just before the end of the ceremony to get back home to Judy. Yet as I walked through the hallway encircling the sanctuary, I could still hear the ceremony, and the Christian Academy orchestra was quietly playing, “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” which is also Judy’s favorite hymn! As I began whispering the words to that song, I was reminded of so many wonderful moments from being inside that sanctuary and many other great memories from nearly six decades of ministry.
Morning by morning, new mercies I see;
all I have needed Thy hand hath provided.
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Tears welled, and I quietly worshipped, thanking God for the many great memories and for giving me such a wonderful day!
IT GOT EVEN BETTER!
The following morning, I received a text from Monica Henderson, Director of BSide U for Life, our local crisis pregnancy center. She forwarded me a news story with the headline, “Kentucky Abortion Clinic Up for Sale.” “The EMW Women’s Surgical Center, one of only two abortion clinics in Kentucky, is on the market with a listing of $3.5. million…It has been the site of thousands of abortions over the past 30 years, but the clinic has not been providing elective abortions since last August when the procedure became illegal in Kentucky. Up until that point, EMW was performing approximately 3000 abortions each year, according to the center’s website.”
I am thankful God has faithfully blessed the efforts of pro-life advocates to save the lives of thousands of unborn children. And that is another reason to rejoice.
This has been a great 24 hours for me! Matthew 25:23 reminds us that God rewards us for being faithful with little things. And it is often in the little things we can see God’s enduring love and faithfulness.
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story — those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south” (Psalm 107:1-3).
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