Although I cherish the memories of the last few months that Art and I spent together, as the one-year anniversary of his death approaches, I choose to remember the husband, father, pastor, teacher, encourager I knew through our 56 plus years together.
I remember…
…how hard he worked our first year of marriage, 40 hours a week at a hardware, carrying 20 credit hours in college so he could graduate with his class, and preaching on weekends or caring for his father who was dying.
…how excited he was when our children were born. I remember him standing at the nursery window watching our newborn, so anxious to hold her. Even the nursing staff got a charge out of his excitement.
…he often entertained our two on road trips in the car with stories of his childhood. They would hang over the center of the front seat so as to not miss a word of his adventures.
…life wasn’t always easy and sometimes I’d look at our finances and think there was no way we could pay the bills, but Art always managed to find a way and to give God credit for His provision.
…a father who always had time to cheer his son in a swim meet or who proudly displayed and encouraged his daughter’s art or music.
…a husband who coaxed and sometimes even forced me into situations that were way out of my comfort zone yet helped me to develop the abilities he saw in me.
…I also experienced a husband who was willing to release me to ministries God opened to me and was also willing to pitch in and help me, too.
…when he would come home excited about leading someone to the Lord…many of them young people who are serving the Lord today.
…he loved people and cared deeply for those in his care as pastor. He was always ready to respond to their needs…like the time he killed a bat that had terrified one of our parishioners or the time he rescued a frightened single woman who thought burglars had broken into her home when he discovered that the plaster ceiling had fallen in her entryway.
…thinking that he was truly a modern-day Barnabas encouraging, mentoring and helping others to realize their potential and dreams.
…nights when he would come home exhausted from counseling sessions he’d had throughout the day, yet he’d be encouraged because someone had experienced a breakthrough in the issue they faced.
…his perseverance in getting his Doctor of Ministry degree working late at night on his classes after a full day pastoring.
…his joy in teaching students, especially in retirement years through online classes for Indiana Wesleyan University.
…his skill in teaching pastors and young leaders in places like Pakistan and Bangladesh.
…his work encouraging and supporting missionaries throughout his ministry, but also as their pastor during his time with Global Partners, the Wesleyan Church’s mission’s department.
…he enjoyed our little cottage, Heart’s Desire, in northern Michigan. Through the years it offered a place of refreshment and refueling for ministry, not only for our family but for many others he loaned it to through the years.
…a skilled woodworker who shocked me by building a house (how did he know how to do that?) who in retirement years enjoyed time creating in his workshop. This doesn’t begin to mention church building projects that he spearheaded.
…how he enjoyed spending time with the grandchildren, often involving them in one of the many building projects at the cottage, or taking them fishing, deer spotting, or other adventures.
…he was a tease and loved to laugh. He claimed I often spoiled it when he’d tease the grandkids. They would often look to me to see if Art was really serious and I’d reassure them that he was only teasing.
…he enjoyed relaxing by playing games with friends and family.
Today I cannot hear the word “joy” without remembering his determination to maintain his joy when he knew he faced an unknown future battling cancer. And his submission to whatever God allowed.
And today I am comforted knowing that he is experiencing “fullness of joy” in the presence of Jesus that is promised to us in Psalm 16:11.
