Author: Anna Lee

“Lord, I have called daily upon You; I have stretched out my hands to You.” (Psalm 88:9b)

Glenn Magee, Sr. and Glen Magee, Jr. are leaving today for Florida where Glen, Jr. will have back surgery. If all goes well, they should be back in five days. Pray for them as they are away and for the family members who will stay here and continue their normal activities.

Mrs. Lee (Martina) Hall of Arcola is in the hospital at Greensburg. Pray the doctors will be able to give her the help she needs.

Pray for our country as we go through the transition to a new president and his administration.

WEDNESDAY WINDOW ON THE WORLD – November 5, 2008

MOSSI OF COTE D’IVOIRE (MOH-see). Thank you for interceding for those who are hearing stories about Jesus from missionary apprentices Mike and Heather McAfee. The McAfees write: “Some of the participants in our group should be able to complete the story set this month and will then be faced with a life-changing decision. Those who are eager to hear the Jesus stories have become especially dear to us. One man in particular never ceases to amaze us with his exclamations as the stories unfold. He gasped as Abraham drew the knife to sacrifice Isaac, he was horrified at the sins of Israel’s leaders, he wanted to know if the Messiah had come after hearing the prophecies of Isaiah, and he beamed with joy when the baby Jesus was embraced in joy before the temple as the promised Savior. He begs us to continue with the next story in the set. It is all we can do to keep ahead of him as we prepare each story in French. Pray with us that he and other Muslims in the city of Abidjan will come to see Jesus as their Savior and not just one among many prophets.” mhmcafee95@yahoo.com

RUSSIAN-SPEAKING PEOPLE OF UFA, RUSSIA (oo-FAH). Please pray for Team Ufa members as they turn in paperwork this month for new visas and work on paperwork to gain temporary residency that will allow them to remain inside Russia for up to three years without costly visa expenses, so that they can continue incarnating a Christian witness. http://www.hope4ufa.com/

PERSIANS OF IRAN (PURR-zhuns). A bill recently went before the Iranian parliament to mandate the death penalty for Muslims convicted of apostasy, and it passed by an overwhelming majority. Just days before the vote, two Iranian Christians were charged with apostasy. Denouncing Islam is now officially a capital offence, but judges are free to decide what penalty will be given. The lives of these two men and many others hang in the balance. Pray for these two men and countless others in Iran who follow Christ as they potentially face significant penalties. Ask God to protect Muslim-background believers in Iran, and pray that they will stand strong against tremendous pressure to return to Islam. http://centralasia.imb.org/

How will
your children remember you?
By Tim Ellsworth

JACKSON, Tenn. (BP)–An unusual obituary ran in a California newspaper in August.

It was an obit for 79-year-old Delores Aguilar in the Times-Herald of Vallejo, Calif. Her daughter Virginia Brown was the writer.

“Delores had no hobbies, made no contribution to society and rarely shared a kind word or deed in her life,” Brown wrote about her mother. “I speak for the majority of her family when I say her presence will not be missed by many, very few tears will be shed and there will be no lamenting over her passing.”

What a way to be remembered, huh?

A columnist from another local paper, John Bogert of the Daily Breeze, went searching to determine if the obit was legitimate or a hoax. Sadly, he verified its authenticity and even spoke to Brown about why she wrote what she did.

“I wanted to do the right thing, the honest thing,” Brown told Bogert. “When she died a co-worker gave me a copy of an obituary she wrote for her father as a kind of writing guide. What struck me was how my mother was none of the things I was reading. She was never there for us, she was never good and she left no legacy.”

The other day I picked up a copy of the book “A Nickel’s Worth of Skim Milk,” by Bob Hastings. Hastings was a Baptist minister and served for several years as editor of the Illinois Baptist newspaper. The book is the story of Hastings as a boy, growing up in Southern Illinois.

My childhood experiences differed considerably from his. He was a child of the Great Depression. I was a child of the 80s.

Still, there’s something warm about reading the stories of others as they were growing up — especially if the memories they are sharing are fond ones. While reading his book, I delighted to experience the accounts Hastings told of his boyhood. His parents made life happy for him, despite the tough economic circumstances.

Some of the stories he told made me smile. He recalled how at Christmas every year, his father would kill one of their chickens. His mom would dress it and dry it, and then they wrapped the bird up securely and packaged it in a box. His dad then took the chicken to the post office and mailed it to Hastings’ sister in St. Louis.

“We sent what we could, and I always sensed that the package was tied by cords of love,” Hastings wrote.

Reading Hastings’ childhood stories made me appreciate the fact that over the next few years, I’ll be largely responsible for the memories my own children will be making. Those memories will accompany them throughout their lives.

Will the thoughts they conjure up 50 years from now be recollections that make them smile? I’m fairly confident their memories will never be as bitter as Brown’s are of her mother. But am I doing all I can to brighten their days and fill their lives with joy?

Too often I find myself tempted to shortchange my children to pursue my own selfish interests. Rather than playing with my son, it’s easier for me to plop down and watch a ballgame. Rather than reading a Winnie the Pooh book to my daughter for the 52nd time, it’s easier for me to piddle around on the computer — doing stuff that I’d like to think is important.

As sad as Delores Aguilar’s obituary is, and as extreme of an example as it is, it’s a potent reminder nonetheless for those of us who are parents. What will our children say about us when we’re gone?

May my children never be tempted to say about me what Brown said about her mother at the obituary’s end: “There will be no service, no prayers and no closure for the family she spent a lifetime tearing apart. We cannot come together in the end to see to it that her grandchildren and great-grandchildren can say their goodbyes. So I say here for all of us, GOOD BYE, MOM.”

(Tim Ellsworth is director of news and media relations at Union University.)

Anna Lee