Barbara
The day after we arrived in Scotland back in 1976 with our two small children in tow ready to begin a new adventure, a lady we didn't know came to our door and over the years she turned out to be one of those special people who are part of all of our lives.
Barbara announced that she was part of the congregation of the church that I had come to pastor and she wanted to help us settle in. We protested politely, told her we had it covered and generally made the noises we usually make when we don't really know what to say to people. She went on to tell us she couldn't do a lot publicly in the church, but she would be happy to wash our china, glassware, etc as we unpacked it and then put it away for us. And so she set to work. For the eight years we spent in that house, I'd swear all of our crockery, cutlery and glasses lived exactly where Barbara placed them that June morning.
The northeast of Scotland was hundreds of miles away from family so we had no one we knew near at hand. As she left that day, looking fresh as a daisy despite her 60 years, Barbara offered her services as a baby-sitter whenever needed.And that's how she became Charlotte and Jonathan's "Scottish granny". As they grew, they would often announce, "We're just going down to Barbara's" and they would make their way through the village to her home on the shore where there was always a smell of fresh baking in the air and delicious scones and pancakes on offer for hungry children.
Barbara went home today. Home to heaven at the age of 89. I don't know that she ever preached a sermon or often stood in front of a congregation, but she blessed hundreds of people in her lifetime by being there for them at their point of need. Barbara was very like Jesus who announced once that he had not come to be served, but to serve. She lived for others, devoted her life to others and finally heard her Lord say, "Well done!"
It's doing the little things faithfully and well that really matters.
Thankfully I got some excellent seats to fly over to Scotland for the funeral (using frequent flyer miles!), so I'll be leaving Wednesday evening and will be back on Friday evening.
Barbara announced that she was part of the congregation of the church that I had come to pastor and she wanted to help us settle in. We protested politely, told her we had it covered and generally made the noises we usually make when we don't really know what to say to people. She went on to tell us she couldn't do a lot publicly in the church, but she would be happy to wash our china, glassware, etc as we unpacked it and then put it away for us. And so she set to work. For the eight years we spent in that house, I'd swear all of our crockery, cutlery and glasses lived exactly where Barbara placed them that June morning.
The northeast of Scotland was hundreds of miles away from family so we had no one we knew near at hand. As she left that day, looking fresh as a daisy despite her 60 years, Barbara offered her services as a baby-sitter whenever needed.And that's how she became Charlotte and Jonathan's "Scottish granny". As they grew, they would often announce, "We're just going down to Barbara's" and they would make their way through the village to her home on the shore where there was always a smell of fresh baking in the air and delicious scones and pancakes on offer for hungry children.
Barbara went home today. Home to heaven at the age of 89. I don't know that she ever preached a sermon or often stood in front of a congregation, but she blessed hundreds of people in her lifetime by being there for them at their point of need. Barbara was very like Jesus who announced once that he had not come to be served, but to serve. She lived for others, devoted her life to others and finally heard her Lord say, "Well done!"
It's doing the little things faithfully and well that really matters.
Thankfully I got some excellent seats to fly over to Scotland for the funeral (using frequent flyer miles!), so I'll be leaving Wednesday evening and will be back on Friday evening.
posted by Roger Blackmore | 11:12 PM
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