“One generation commends your works to another…they tell of your mighty works.”
Psalm 145:4 ESV
Forty-five years ago I moved to Oswego, New York where my husband, Dan, was a pastor. I had three little boys at the time and my mother had died a few years prior to our arriving. I was lonely. One day I asked God for a friend and, as He sometimes does, He answered in an unexpected and special way through several remarkable circumstances. My youngest son, Doug, who was about to turn three, fell in love with the church pianist. In preparation for his birthday party, I asked who he would like to invite, and he replied, “Kathie.” It took a little probing, but I eventually realized Kathie was not a little girl, but the beautiful, young church pianist. This made some sense since we had not lived in New York long enough for him to have close friends, but it was still quite an unusual request. I told Kathie and how could she and her husband turn him down? They came to the party. That was the beginning of a decades-long friendship that continues even today. God always does things beautifully.
Kathie’s parents became like adopted grandparents to my sons. Mary, her mother, was the type of mature example of a woman of grace and love that I needed in my life. She influenced me to grow spiritually. “The older women must train the younger women…” Titus 2:4a. The story continues “generation to another generation.” Mary’s influence continues with her family and wonderful grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and with women all over the country.
Kathie and I love women and have served women wherever we go, encouraging them to love Jesus. Today Kathie ministers to women in her church and is the art director and administrator of the Solution for Life website.
Her daughter, Kristen, is a mother and volunteers in the Solution for Life ministry. She edits the newsletter and contributes articles for younger women.
To close this blog, I’d like to share an article Kristen has written about wisdom and influence through generations.
“Several times recently I’ve heard the statement made that you are the average of the people you spend the most time with. Some will say it’s the average of your closest five people, some will say ten, but whatever the number, this idea that you become like the people you’re with has been taking up a good amount of my brain space lately. There are a lot of conclusions that can be reached from this statement, but the one I’ve been thinking about the most is how much of my life I’ve spent surrounded by people who are just like me. Or at least as close as I could find. And while it’s natural to be drawn to people who feel familiar, I feel as though God has been drawing my attention to the beauty of others’ perspectives. Especially on things like faith, doubt, prayer, etc. As I’ve been finding friends who are older than me, younger than me, who have lived different faith stories and survived different struggles, I’m noticing my view of God deepening and expanding. I don’t mean to say that the things I’ve always believed are necessarily wrong, just that they might have been limited to the little stream I’ve been swimming in. Living in friendship with people who add new colors to my landscape feels like a little foreshadowing of what it might be like to live in forever community with people “from every tribe and tongue,” all reflecting their own facet of God’s beauty.” Kristen Alewine
Thank you Mary, Kathie, and Kristen for the wonderful part you have had in my life.