by Pastor Cecil | Feb 13, 2015 | Proverbs
Proverbs 31:10-11
A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
I have been asked to share the tribute I narrated at the memorial service for the best friend and sweetest wife a man could ever have. After sixty-six years, this will be the first Valentine’s Day without my precious Joyce — sixty-two of those as husband and wife.
MY TRIBUTE TO THE VITAL PART OF MY LIFE—MY WIFE!
After all of these years, how can I begin to explain the love I shared with Joyce? I began to discover the meaning of love when we were young and full of life. As near as I can recall, it was Sunday, August 22, 1948, in Nampa, Idaho, when I first saw Joyce. Sunday school class was about to start and, as usual, I was sitting next to my lifelong friend Jerry, when the door of that classroom opened and Joyce stepped in with her sister. She was wearing a white and yellow dress that just set off her pitch black hair. At that moment it seemed like my heart stopped beating. I turned to Jerry and said, “She’s the one!” I didn’t even know what that meant, but I knew that with one look she had stolen my heart.
A few weeks later there was a potluck dinner for several families who had moved from Camas, Washington, to Nampa. With my heart in my throat, I asked Joyce if she would like to go with me. I was sure that someone with her beauty would never have eyes for a clod like me. Amazingly, she said yes! I later learned that when we left the house that day, her mother commented, “Look at those two babies!”
At just fourteen years of age we appeared to be too young to know what love was…but we did! Nat King Cole had a hit song back then that became ours. It seemed to perfectly express our situation: “They Try to Tell Us We’re Too Young.”
They try to tell us we’re too young, too young to really be in love; They say that love’s a word, a word we’ve only heard but can’t begin to know the meaning of. And yet we’re not too young to know, this love will last though years may go, and then some day they may recall, we were not too young at all.
Looking back from this vantage point, I wonder that our parents gave us their blessing to our dating. That flicker of tender teenage love only grew stronger through our high school years. Other classmates would date for a time and then part for a new romance. All the while, Cec and Joyce never parted.
I still remember the sweet times we spent sharing our dreams with each other. Contrary to many modern couples, we waited to consummate our love after we were married.
Our wedding night was special in so many ways. It was blistering hot and our pastor was out of town, so a college professor performed the ceremony. There was an attempt to steal the keys of the car taking us on our honeymoon, but the plot failed and love prevailed. We were now beginning our wonderful new life as husband and wife.
It was not long before we experienced our first taste of military life. It gave us an opportunity to see places and meet people who became dear friends. It was during our first assignment in South Dakota that our dear Brenda was born. Oh, how we long to see her once again. The next time will be in eternity and there will be no sorrow, pain, or separation. We will see her healthy and happy beyond imagining. Our next two children, Dan and Lori, were both born in Nampa. They also have been such sources of joy. Even in the trials of life they have shown us love and respect and have always commented about the love they saw in their parents.
I am not sure when Joyce and I crossed the line from young people to middle age people, to mature people, to elderly people…but in every age we have passed through, we have loved each other completely.
Sensual love is something that novelists have tried to portray, but our love has been far deeper. During the darkest days of trial and testing, we have known the love of Jesus and the love of each other.
We have shed our tears at the passing of our precious Brenda and then through the transplant surgeries of our dear Lori. What a gift of love from a granddaughter, Jenna, who gave one of her kidneys to her aunt Lori. Not only have we shared our love for each other, we have felt that love surround us.
Across these years I watched the beautiful woman I first saw as a fourteen-year-old beauty who captured my heart on a Sunday morning grow more and more feeble. But her beauty and loveliness has never faded from my sight.
They say that your memory is going to gradually recede as you grow older. With my precious Joyce it was slipping far too rapidly. Many of her comments were just a little out of context. The doctors confirmed that she was suffering from Dementia with Lewy Bodies. We had never even heard of such an ailment before, but were now living with it.
Over these last few months, I knew that we were losing her. As I sat beside her bed I looked over the face of the gorgeous woman who has been beside me these many years. My heart ached.
We both knew the time was running out. In our quiet moments we tried to share just how precious we had been to each other. Not long ago you paid me the highest honor a wife could give a husband when you said, “Honey, you are love personified!” I will always be that for you, Dear Joyce. I LOVE YOU DEARLY. Wait for me I still have work to do here on earth!
Your devoted husband, Cec
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Feb 12, 2015 | Joshua
Joshua 1:8
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
Several years ago I had triple heart by-pass surgery. I really did not feel too bad before the operation and was back in front of our congregation in eight days. (Instead of standing, however, I did use a stool for the first few weeks).
Part of my prescription following surgery was to enroll in a cardiac rehabilitation program at the hospital. I was making progress on the various exercise machines and walking, but there came a day when I walked out. That was the day an instructor entered our room and began to teach us how to clear our minds of all thoughts and meditate.
Isn’t it strange that the world (or the god of this world – Satan) tries to duplicate the positive methods that God has given us? The “new age” crowd is nothing more than the “old age.” Clearing the mind opens the portals for the enemy to enter and occupy.
The instruction for true spiritual meditation is to be found in today’s Scripture. It begins and ends with Scripture. We need to live in God’s Word and meditate on how it applies to us. Long ago I was given wise advice on how to approach a study of the Bible: Take a portion and ask yourself three questions: 1.What does it say? 2. What does it mean? 3. How does it apply to me? Then meditate on that!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Feb 11, 2015 | 2 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians 2:14-15
“He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.”
In police work there are times when it seems that the best action is in-action. That is not necessarily accurate, but it seems like it. When a crime has been committed and an offender is thought to be in a particular area, a perimeter is established. The officers on the detail are ordered to stay in their position, which allows them to see only a small area. Other officers have their assignments as well. When the criminal unwisely tries to escape, he is seen and arrested.
In the Christian walk it is easy to become tempted to do our own thing without the call of God. It is almost as if we are doing some great thing so God will be pleased with us. That is not so. Many times God calls us to set up a perimeter.
Joseph was sold into slavery, falsely accused, and languished for years in a prison far from home and family. God knew what He was doing when he allowed this to happen. His plan was to bring about the rescue of Joseph’s family, including those very brothers who had betrayed him. He obeyed and set up God’s perimeter.
It is time for personal evaluation. Are you so busy doing your own thing that you have given little thought to how you fit into God’s purpose? It is very likely that He has plans for you, but it will be up to you to just stand fast and wait for Him.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Feb 10, 2015 | Psalm
Psalm 84:5-7
“Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.”
This world is not my home, I’m just passing through –
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue…
Anyone remember that old gospel hymn? How easy it is to get our eyes so focused on the cares and concerns of this world that we forget our real home is waiting for us in heaven.
A family once shared with me how they had moved from Kansas to Washington state in the 1930’s, driving an old car that was barely able to run. They had very little money and were forced to travel from town to town where they would work at hard labor for 10 cents an hour.
They stayed at motor camps that were not much more than four walls, perhaps a sink, and hopefully close to the public restrooms. Even though they would stay there for several days, or even a couple of weeks, to earn enough money to move on to the next stopping place, it was in no way home. They had no interest in fixing up the dilapidated shack because it was not their final destination, but only a stopping place until they reached home.
Why do we spend so much time, energy, and effort to fix up something that is going to pass away? It is so much better to devote ourselves to making this vale of tears a little more bearable for others as we are on our journey to our eternal home.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Feb 9, 2015 | Proverbs
Proverbs 18:24
“A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
We really do need each other, and a true friend is one of the greatest possessions we can have. It is a sad and poor man who has no friends. Friends are different than companions. Companions may be close by, but are not sufficiently close that we can share our deepest feelings.
I have been blessed with a wealth of friends over the years. One of those friends is Chris Vosler. Chris and his wife, Pat, were members of the church I pastored in Burns, Oregon, almost forty years ago. When I resigned that pastorate, Chris gave me a plaque which I have looked at almost every day of my life since then. Here is what it says: “A friend is one who knows you as you are, understands where you’ve been, accepts who you’ve become, and still gently invites you to grow. Cecil, Thanks for being that friend. Chris”
There is one Friend who far exceeds all others. He is with us come rain or shine, good days or not so good days. Jesus Christ stays with us during the dark hours of the night. When we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, He is there beside us. When we receive devastating news, He is there to provide the comfort and solace to ease the pain. When we receive news that calls for rejoicing, He makes it even better for we have One who rejoices with us. At all times, and in every circumstance, our Dearest Friend makes our life worth living.
Having such a dear and precious Friend, He calls us to be the special friend to others. That will often mean getting out of our comfort zone and going the extra mile for someone else. Are you a TRUE FRIEND?
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
