Allow me to introduce my cousin Jon and his wife Lauri, whom he laid to rest yesterday. This couple’s love for Jesus was evident in their lives and in their love for others.
They raised four loving and devoted children, adopting one from Cambodia. Jon and Lauri’s home had an open door policy. They welcomed visiting missionaries, foreign exchange students and a teenager who needed a home during her four years of high school. They modeled love for their children who are now grown and living their own lives loving God and serving man.
Lauri was a school teacher. She led a women’s Bible study and also taught the Bible to children. Although they lived in a distant city, I once called Lauri to ask if she might visit a friend’s sick relative there. Lauri didn’t know her, but was willing to visit her several times, share the Lord with her and pray with her.
Then Lauri suffered a debilitating stroke affecting her speech and leaving her paralyzed. She spent a short time in a rehabilitation center, but husband Jon, a medical doctor, saw she was uncomfortable and not getting the care she deserved.
He took an early retirement so he could care for Lauri himself, in their home. He had tracks installed in the ceiling with pulleys that assisted him in moving her from room to room, and lowering her in and out of the bath. That was 19 years ago.
That’s right. I said 19!
Jon and Lauri’s adult children often visited on weekends and Jon would barbecue for everyone. Lauri’s speech improved over time. She told me the one thing she can do is pray. Then added, “I pray for you and your family every day.”
Two precious saints: One has graduated to heaven. The other will soon find new ways to serve God, I’m sure of it.
- Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. Ephesians 5:25
- SONG: AT THE FEET OF JESUS – Lyrics by Liana Wendy Howarth; Music by Kathleen
