My Aunt Joyce – A Woman of Wisdom

Proverbs 12:22 – Those who deal faithfully are His delight!

If I can use one word to describe my Aunt Joyce, it is the word “consistent”. She is the only person alive on the earth who has been in my life consistently since the day I was born. She is dependable, faithful, always there. She is a constant anchor in the lives of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She is available and always the same. She has a contagious laugh and enjoys the small things in life. She loves little children – and they know it, because they can always count on her to play with them and laugh with them! She is ever present in my life, just a phone call away. She always listens. She always responds. She always prays. She always loves.

Does that remind you of Someone? Jesus loved the little children. He told his disciples, “Let the little children come unto me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14)

Jesus is “an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast.” (Hebrews 6:19)

Jesus prayed for His followers, including you and me. “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (John 17:20-21)

Jesus listens to our prayers and responds to our needs. “For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, And His ears attend to their prayer…” (I Peter 3:12)

Jesus loves us unconditionally and sacrificially. “Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” (John 13:1)

Jesus never changes. “(He) is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

He will never abandon us. He promises, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

One memory I hold dearly, is that of my Aunt Joyce in her early morning routine. This same scene plays out in her home each day, and has for as many years as I can remember. Each morning, while it is still dark, she is awake, sitting quietly at her table in the kitchen, with her coffee and her open Bible…Every morning, reading her Bible and her “Daily Bread” devotional. Every day, praying faithfully for her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and for her nieces & their spouses, their children, and their grandchildren. Another example of being like Jesus. “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” (Mark 1:35)

What a legacy of love! What an example of Jesus in the life of a young girl who didn’t have very many consistent people in her life.

Thank you, Aunt Joyce, for being a Woman of Wisdom in your consistent, faithful life…just being there, loving God, and loving us.