Legacy of Two Women

October 9, 2017

Legacy of Two Women

Two days in October bring to my remembrance two extraordinary women that I have had the wonderful privilege to have known in my life.

On October 7, 2016, heaven gained the presence of a dear friend, Pam Park, who lost her valiant fight with cancer.

On October 8, 2012, my grandmother, Hester Baccus Holder, was ushered into the presence of her Lord and Savior after 96 years of being here on this earth.

Two women of different ages who never met. One had lived a full life even seeing several great grandchildren. The other lived a shorter but no less impactful life and left behind a grieving husband and two teenagers.

Both of these women left incredible legacy’s behind. At my grandmother’s funeral everyone said that they had never seen her ever raise her voice. Even her 7 children said that they could never remember a time where she got angry. What a testimony! At the memorial for Pam Park I just remember person after person getting up and giving testimony to the fact that she loved her Lord and served Him until her final breath. Oh my, for these things to be said of me.

These women both loved Jesus and you could tell it on their faces, in their speech, and in everything that they did. You could tell from the first time you met them that they had spent time with Jesus. Oh, what a legacy to leave behind to the family and friends that miss them.

I was at the beach the other weekend with Carl. We were attending a marriage retreat and every morning I woke up early to walk out on the beach and see the sunrise. It is one of my most favorite things to do in the world.

I was trying to read through the book of Acts but I did not get far. The first morning I read through chapter 2 before the Lord led me to stop and write my thoughts down. The second morning I read through chapter 4 before it happened again. What the Lord showed me that morning I ended up sharing in church yesterday as a memorial to Pam. I did not even realize that my grandmother and Pam had entered heaven on almost the same days but several years apart. It was only later that afternoon that I realized the significance of these two days in October.

I wanted to share my thoughts here in a more permanent way for more people to see. Pam touched so many lives and so did my grandmother. We need more women like this in the world. Women who are unafraid to stand up and say that they love Jesus and truly follow him.

So here are the words that God gave me on September 24, 2017 and I leave them here in memory of Pam Park and Hester Baccus Holder.

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceiving that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

Acts 4:13

 Oh, for this to be said of me. My deepest desire is for people to say as soon as they meet me that I have been with Jesus. I want to be so close to him that every thought, every word, every deed is an extension of who HE is.

I want there to be no doubt to anyone that I am a child of the living, Holy God. I want to be so full of the Holy Spirit that it is contagious. In order for this to happen I must first be filled with the Holy Spirit. How can people say of me that I have been with Jesus if I have not spent any time with Him?

In a human relationship, in order to get to know someone, you spend lots of time with them. The same is true of our relationship with God. We have to spend time with God in order to get to KNOW Him.

He knows everything about us but we could spend a lifetime learning about Him and never know the depths of who He truly is. To spend time with the Lord should be our deepest desire. The one thing that we cannot live without. What we crave above food and all else.

Is this how I live?

Do I desire and crave for Christ like I thirst for water and food?

I should not be able to go a day without spending time with my Savior. He should be the first thing I seek in the morning, not my phone.

He should be the last thing I think about at night, not my phone.

I should wake up and sing HIS praises and fall asleep with praises and thankfulness to HIM on my lips.

Anything less is not truly following HIM.

His Holy Spirit should flow out of my so much that people stop and talk about it. When others speak of me I should be recognized as one who HAS BEEN WITH JESUS.

I often wonder why I do not have the boldness the New Testament believers had. Why do I often seize up in front of people? I am fine with being on a stage in front of hundreds of people performing a character. The individual relationships and conversations are the things that I fail at.

I sometimes have such an overwhelming fear of man. I pray that the Lord would take this fear from me. I pray that he would take away the judgmental attitudes I have toward people and give me a heart of compassion for them. To have a desire for them to crave a desire to walk with Jesus. To have a deeper relationship with the Lord.

That is what I wrote sitting on the beach a few weeks before I even realized that the anniversary of the entrance into heaven for these two lovely ladies was coming up.

The Lord brought what I had written to my mind yesterday during church. I had forgotten I had written this but how applicable it was to these two ladies in my life.

I was privileged to have known these two ladies. Each one knew Jesus intimately and was bold in their faith. Each one had a profound effect on my life. My prayer is that at the end of my life that my family and friends can come together and remember that I walked with my Savior through this life. That I continued to desire to know Him more and more each day. That my children and grandchildren recall that I walked with Jesus unashamedly and boldly. This is prayer.

I have had the amazing privilege of watching these two women live out their faith and with their final breath praise the Lord. That is my desire. That until my last earthly breath leaves me that I will proclaim boldly the name of Jesus.