Daily Lesson for July 29, 2014

Today's Daily Lesson is a story about something that happened yesterday:

Yesterday I took my daughter Gabrielle to visit a few folks from church in nursing homes.  I knew that she was tired of refereeing her little brothers' at home and knew the people I was going to visit would enjoy her company.  I also thought she might learn something.

One of the people we went to see was Ina Mae Stewart, one of the early members of our church who is now suffering from dementia and is in the memory care unit over at Emeritus Living Center.  As Gabby and I came in I didn't know if Ina Mae would know who I was as her ability to recognize people comes and goes.  But when we walked into the hallway where Ina Mae was sitting in rocking chair, she did know me as her pastor and Gabby as my little girl.  "Oh," she said, "here come two great people."

I pulled up a chair beside Ina Mae and Gabby remained standing as we talked a little while about how she was doing.  It was evident that she was having a hard time recalling recent events but did have memories from years past.  That was when I thought of something that I knew she would remember and that I wanted to know about and I wanted Gabby to know about also.  Yesterday morning I had done a short reflection on a woman from the early church who was a deacon and perhaps writing that and then seeing Ina Mae made me think of her having been ordained as one of our church's first women deacons.  "Ina Mae, tell me and Gabby about how you became one of the first women deacons at our church," I asked.

"Oh, well," she began, "some of the women came to me and they said if I said yes, more would follow.  I went home and thought and prayed about it.  It was important that it was women who came to me so I knew the women approved.  And I knew my mother would approve.  So I said yes.  It was a big deal then - women deacons; but now we don't even think about it," she said with a feint twinkle in her eye.

We sat there for a few seconds in silence.  "Ina Mae," I asked, "are you ready for he next journey?"  "The what?" she asked.  "The next journey," I repeated.  "Oh my, yes," she said. "If you aren't ready for that then better get ready."  I reached out and grabbed her hand and my eyes began to well up with tears.  She then reached toward me and began to pat my hand with her other hand.  The patting was purposeful and rhythmic, like a mother burping a small baby.  Then came the words Ina Mae is famous around our church for; "Oh, honey," she said with a comforting smile.

At that time another resident in the memory care unit came walking down the hall and stopped, looked down at Gabby and began to make faces and play games with her as one would with say a niece or a nephew.  The woman reached out and grabbed Gabby's hand.  "Walk with me," she said.  Knowing that we were in a secure and locked facility and that all they could so was walk the hallway I asked Gabby if she would walk with the woman.  She nodded at me silently and got up and began to walk beside the woman down the hallway.  Inae May turned to me.  "She wasn't too sure about that," she said.  "But she went because she trusts her daddy. She has courage, which is unusual in a child."  "Thank you, Ina Mae," I said.  "Thank you."

Gabby returned for her walk down the hall and we said our goodbyes to Ina Mae.  "See you again," I said.  As Gabby and I walked out the building I realized we were right next door to the old Second Baptist building, the one we left behind when the church relocated.  "Hey, do you want to go see the old church?"  Of course she did.  

We walked across the parking lot and I told Gabby we couldn't go inside but then as we got to the building someone came out who recognized me as the pastor of Second Baptist.  They insisted we to in and have a look around.  We walked in and made our way down to the sanctuary.  I opened the sanctuary door and we both stepped in to that old and sacred place.  "This is holy ground," I said to Gabby.  We walked down the aisle and set in the pew where as a boy I sat and listened to Hardy Clemons preach.  Then we walked up the chancel steps and to the baptistry over to our right.  "This is where grandad was baptized," I said. Then we turned back around and stood together in the center of the chancel above the steps.  "And this, right here, is where grandad and CeCe were married.  And it's also where Inae Mae was ordained as a deacon."  "What does ordained mean?" Gabby asked.  "It means she was appointed by God."

We exited the old church and made our way back across the parking lot.  I looked down at Gabby.  "What did Ina Mae say the women told her.  If she said yes then what?" I asked. Gabby remembered.   "She said they said if she said yes then others would follow."  "Remember that," I said. "Always remember this day and remember those words."  "Okay," she said.

We got back across the parking lot and I read the sign out front of the nursing home.  "Emeritus" it said.