This past week I had the opportunity to visit Gertrude, a 96 year old woman who attended the founding convention of the LWML in 1942. The Lutheran Woman’s Quarterly had an article titled, “Reinventing Servant Gertrude,” on page 9 of the Summer 2010 issue.
I made the trip with two dear LWML friends; we stopped and picked up Kentucky Fried Chicken, Gertrude’s requested meal. When we walked through the door of her place she was so happy to see us and told us that she had been praying for our safe travel.
One of the gifts that I gave to her was a set of the new large print Mustard Seeds devotions, Comfort from the Psalms. I assured her that she probably didn’t need it as her eyesight is still quite good, but that she might know people to whom she could give them. One of the women wanted a photo of Gertrude holding up the packet, so she obliged. Gertrude broke out in laughter as the devotion placed in the back of the clear packet is titled, “Facing the Enemy.” And that is what she was reading while the photo was being taken. I quickly paged through the devotionals and read some of the titles so she could hold up another one for a photo. Gertrude chose the one titled, “God is in Control.”
After the photos were done, I was going through some of the other gift items for her. I had included the LWML perpetual calendar, Simple Treasures, which contains quotations from Alma Kern’s writings. Since the calendar was enclosed in shrink wrap, I opened it for her and turned to the entry for that date, August 12. The quote on that day was from Alma’s book, You Are Special. It read: “Faith is remembering…God is in control. He has a plan for your life. He turns evil into good for those who love Him”.
God is in control; a message that was received twice within a few minutes; one that I need to remember.
How grateful I am for the courageous women who met in 1942 to officially begin the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League. How grateful I am that God is in control of the LWML.