"For I long to visit you so I can share a spiritual blessing with you that will help you grow strong in the Lord. I'm eager to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. In this way, each of us will be a blessing to the other." (Romans 1:11-12 NLT)
Today I am thankful for all of the women of faith that God has placed in my life over the years to encourage me in my walk with Him. We really can't do life by ourselves effectively. My life would be radically different if I didn't have friends who constantly pray for me, minister to me and build up my faith by living out their own.
In honor of all my spiritual mothers and sisters, I want to share with you about one specific woman who took the time to invest in my life. This is something I wrote over three years ago to honor her.
I REMEMBER HER NAME...
By Dori Cook
She was more than a Sunday School teacher...
She was a friend, an encourager and a prayer warrior. With all the obvious pressures of being a Pastor’s wife, she took the time to be a spiritual mother to a group of misfit teenage girls. We all had different backgrounds, personalities and problems and yet she met each of us at the point of our need. She encouraged us to rise above life’s circumstances and reach for all that God has for His beloved children. We were “Chosen Vessels,” she said. She made us each feel unique, special and loved, something deeply treasured by God.
I remember her Bible. It was blue and its pages lined in silver. It was worn from the time she spent reading the words of the Lord she loved so much. I remember the scriptures she taught us…
”But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5&6)
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in My name.” (John 15:16)
I remember her tears. She cried as she read God’s Word. She cried as she sang His songs. She cried when she shared the failures and victories of her own spiritual journey to the heart of God. She cried with us when we walked through tough circumstances.
I remember her commitment to praying for us. She went to bed early and awoke early, always meeting her Lord in the big winged back chair in her living room. Our names were there; not only on her prayer list but on her lips as she lifted up her petitions to God. When she told me that she had mentioned my name to the Lord, I was confident that she had.
I remember her mothering all of us as if we were her own. I recall learning that being a mother to someone reaches far beyond the biological to the spiritual. It’s a calling of God, a mission field, and she fulfilled her mission time and time again. The fruits of her labor are visible in the lives of the girls she mentored all those years ago. We are godly wives and mothers. Some of us are Bible teachers, Christian musicians and writers. All of us are part of the Kingdom of God because she took the time to help us on our way.
I wondered if my children would ever have someone like her in their life; someone who would share Christ with them, not out of obligation but out of a calling. I prayed that I could be a godly mother to my own children, but also take the time to plant spiritual seeds in the lives of the other children God places within my circle of influence. I asked Him to make me more like her; one who would look beyond the outward and see what God sees when He looks at His special creations.
I remember her name. I call her “Miss Nancy” and my life is forever changed because of her.
Miss Nancy, I love you!
Blessings,
Dori
