03/04/2010
Author: John Powell
Find Us Faithful: “Her children shall rise up and bless her.”
At my mother, Ruth Powell’s funeral on Feb. 20, 2010 I summed up my memory of her in three characteristics. “She was kind, cheerful, and always expecting the return of Christ.” What is behind those keys in her character?
At two her mother wrote of Ruth Evelyn Greenman, “Has an agreeable nature; makes friends with everyone.” At three “everyone loves her”, ”likes to visit”. At six it was “Ruth likes to go visiting…canned 2 pts. Blackberry all by herself.” “Scarlet fever at 10 years.” Her father, John H. Greenman died when she was 9, in 1929.
At 14 in 1934 it was “Ruth has recovered remarkably from Perthe’s Disease. Right hipbone ball joint treated at children’s hospital of Mich. Detroit. Wore a brace 6 mo., then abduction by cast, then exploratory operation. 4 weeks in hospital , then treated at home with brace. Now it has started in toe joint—treated. God answered prayer in a marvelous way as she was on the way to tuberculosis of the bone.”
“ Ruth converted at 11yrs., Dec. 23, 1930; Baptised Sunday before Easter. Consecrated life to Christ’s service Nov. 1932. Helps with work. Went to Moody Bible Institute. Graduated Aug. 1940.”
With this and graduation from Western Mich.Teacher’s College a few years later as the backdrop, she served God as a Kindergarten teacher during the week and Kindergarten Sunday School leader, raising four children and helping to build a house and a home as well.
It seems that God designed a combination of a positive nature, physical suffering, a nurturing mother, the loss of her father and an unbelieving step father, to mold her into the kind, positive, expectant person she was known to be up to a few weeks after her 90th birthday.
At her funeral nieces and a nephew described the impact she had on them through personal counsel and encouragement. A nursing home worker drove 250 miles to indicate the impact she had even in the face of progressing Alzheimer’s type dementia.
“Her children shall rise up and bless her.” (Prov.31:28) I see the blessing of God in her life and am grateful it spilled over onto me. Her life shows that adversity, faced with faith in God and hope in the promise of the return of Christ will be transformed into victory.
As I said of my father who died in 2001, I say of my mother, “she died well.” She died well because in Christ she lived well. May all who come behind us find us faithful.
