Chapter Nineteen
A Cloud Of Witnesses
By
Jerri Tuck
".....Wherefore God is not ashamed
to be called their God, for he hath
prepared for them a city."
Hebrews 11:16
Stephanie's picture sets on my desk, her warm smile
reaching out to me.
Brown hair, neatly swept back from her perfectly oval face, with that flawless complexion and piercing blue eyes that models would kill for. Dear, dear Stephanie. I can still feel her hugs and hear her vivacious laughter.
She was only ten or eleven years old when we first met her. Along with two younger sisters and her "mother and father," they came into my office looking for a house. Sitting prim and proper in an office chair, Stephanie looked eagerly at me, while her "parents" explained their situation.
The man, a truck driver, was large and rather quiet, while the woman, a petite, blonde figure did most of the talking. They had been living in Warner Robins, a military town about twenty-five miles north of us. They wanted to get away from city life and move to a small town. Could I help?
After driving them all over Cochran they decided on a modest, frame house just a few miles south of the city. It seemed ideal. Three bedrooms, large kitchen and just enough land to grow a garden. Life was perfect. Or was it?
After we finished the paperwork I turned to the girls and tried getting acquainted with them. I was so drawn to this little brunette with the big blue eyes. As I asked the girls questions, I noticed that their "mom" did most of the talking, answering for them. They seemed hesitant to join the conversation and kept noticeably quiet. It wasn't long before I learned that two of the girls were step-children, including Stephanie.
As we continued talking, I discovered that Stephanie had been quite active at a Salvation Army Church in Warner Robins. As I questioned her directly about her involvement in the church, she blushed, and said that she had been playing the tambourine and was sure going to miss her activities there.
Jumping on that bit of information, I invited them all to visit our church.
Still smiling, but appearing a bit uncomfortable with the direction the conversation had turned, the lady told me they would get back with me about that at a later time. (For right now a house was all they were looking for.....not religion.) Parentheses mine.
Weeks passed without a word from the new residents of
Cochran. I began to think I would never hear from them again. What a
surprise when, one morning, I got a call asking if I would pick Stephanie and
her sister up for church. I was elated. I had been so drawn to this little
girl with the big blue eyes, brown hair and shy demeanor. I couldn't wait to
see her again!
Soon, church going with the Tucks, was an every Sunday event for Stephanie and her little sister. The weeks turned into months, then years and we were only beginning to learn what a priceless jewel Stephanie was.
I believe that every once in awhile, God has a special treasure He deposits in our lives, just to give us a foretaste of His immeasurable love and care. We hear so much about the starving children in India, the helpless plight of the Ethiopians, those neglected and abused children in Thailand.....and yet, right here in America, there are children who are victims of their circumstances. They didn't ask to come into this world, and yet they are here...in such tragic situations.
Stephanie was such a child.
She didn't know who her real father was. Through a bizarre set of circumstances, Buff, (not his real name), had become her legal guardian.
Stephanie's real mom had lived with one man after another. One day she moved in with Buff. Stephanie and her little sister had learned not to question their mother. Instead, under their blankets at night, they would discuss whether or not Buff would be around for long.
Things started looking up. Buff, in spite of all his coarseness, cared about the girls and genuinely loved their mother. Before long a wedding took place and the conversations under the blanket, turned to giggles and dreams of better days ahead.
Legal guardianship seemed to seal them together as a family. But it takes more than a piece of paper to cement relationships. Stephanie's mother was soon up to her old tricks and one day she left Buff, taking her girls with her.
The constant pressures of home life began to affect
Stephanie. She slipped back a grade in school...then another. The only bright
spot in her life was the love and kindness shown to her by the uniformed people
at the Salvation Army. Encouraged by their attention, she started playing a tambourine.
As the adults in the fellowship reached out to Stephanie, she began to blossom.
Soon Jesus was the biggest part of her life and she began to learn that no
matter what happened in her chaotic situation; He would never leave her or
forsake her.
Then the unthinkable happened.
Unable to live the immoral lifestyle she enjoyed, while saddled with two children, Stephanie's mother packed two grocery sacks with clothes, and rang Buff's doorbell. "I can't handle them any longer," she stated matter-of-factly. "You have legal guardianship and so I'm giving them to you." Before he could stammer an answer, she had turned on her heels, jumped in her car and sped off into the night.
Buff was now living with Rosie (not her real name) when they came to my office looking for a house. Neither parent was related by blood, and yet they had taken these girls in and tried to provide a home. Our church then took up the slack and nurtured the girls through the ensuing years after their house purchase.
About four years after coming to Cochran, Buff and Rosie got married and, with the girls, moved to nearby Hawkinsville. By this time Stephanie had turned into a gracious young lady, full of the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. She was truly one of "ours" and we treated her as if she was our own.
As Stephanie continued growing in the Lord, her burden for her real mom, and other members of her family, kept growing as well. Her passion for the lost, whether relatives or friends, was evident to all. Her consuming desire to please the Lord in every area of her life, made her stand out. She was truly a “diamond in the rough”.
One night, taking her home
from church, I could see she was unusually
distressed. "What's wrong honey?" I asked
with concern.
"I'm just afraid," she said, her head bent down, her chin resting on her chest.
"Afraid of what?" I asked.
"I don't know where I'm going to go," she blurted. "Rosie and Buff are
getting a divorce and they said they couldn't keep me any longer." As the tears welled up in her eyes she continued, "I'm so scared."
Charlie and I just looked at each other. "Stephanie, you don't have to be afraid. You'll just come live with us!"
Drying her eyes, she questioned, "Really?"
"Of course," I grinned. "We're not going to let you live on the streets. I'll go in with you when we get home, and talk to Rosie. I'm sure it will be okay with her."
And it was. Rosie apologized for the situation, but she said there was just no way she could handle all the children. I understood.
Stephanie lived with a lot of people during the next few years. In fact while she was staying with us she found out who her real father was. Talk about excitement. We were all as happy as if we had found our roots with her.
After a summer visit with her new found family in Pennsylvania, her father was anxious to have Stephanie live with them on a permanent basis.
Attractive as the offer was, Stephanie could not be enticed to leave Georgia.
"Miss Jerri, if I move up there, who will care about my mom? I need to stay around here to keep contact with her. No one really cares for my mom like me. There wouldn't be anyone to tell her about Jesus."
And it was true.
In the latter years of high school, Stephanie lived near her mother. Things began to change. Stephanie's mom could see Jesus in this special child, and her once hardened heart began to respond to the gospel. Stephanie was ecstatic.
After high school graduation she began to date a young ministerial student. Before long an engagement was announced. Life couldn't be sweeter. Stephanie's mom was getting closer to the Lord, and Stephanie was going to be the wife of a pastor. God is so good.
Then the call came.
While on her way to work, Stephanie had passed a logging truck. Realizing she had judged her distance in error, she pushed on her brake to get back in her lane, behind the truck. But the logs got in the way, and one clipped her car, pushing her into the oncoming traffic.
Death was instant.
As Rosie related the facts, I sat there stunned. I
couldn't believe it. "I thought you would want to know," said
Rosie. Numbly I hung up the phone, thanking her for her thoughtfulness. Then
I went into the bathroom and threw up.
Oh Lord, not Stephanie!
At the funeral service a host of relatives filled nearly a dozen pews. As I looked at the crowd of cousins, aunts and uncles, I thought, "Where were you all those years when Stephanie needed you?"
The church was packed. Her fiancée sat on the front pew. The eulogies began. She had touched so many lives with her sweet Christian testimony.
"Stephanie also lived with us for a few short months," began another speaker. "Her life blessed us more than words can ever say."
With that statement my thoughts began to wander. "How many people had been privileged to have Stephanie in their homes?" It seemed there was no end to the light she had shared with others.
The speaker related that his wife, an elementary school teacher, had put a jar, containing a cocoon, in her classroom. When school ended for the year, the cocoon had not changed, and so, not wanting to destroy it, she had brought it home. "One morning we looked. The cocoon was moving. As we watched it, we saw the insect struggling, then emerging. We watched it fly away." Fighting back the tears he continued, "Later that morning we were informed that Stephanie had been killed....no," he paused thoughtfully,"she had flown away. Stephanie now has a permanent home, and we, who were privileged to know her, will never be the same."
I cried all the way home. As the last few years have
gone by I've wondered. Why? Yes, many of her relatives became Christians. At
the funeral home, nine of her family members received Christ. More responded on
the day of her funeral.
Today, as I look at her picture, I try to make sense out of her "homegoing," and the only explanation I can deal with, is that Stephanie was so precious to Jesus, that He wanted her to spread her sunshine and play her joyous tambourine before all the hosts of heaven, and so He made an executive decision. He called her home.
But even knowing this, I still miss you Stephanie. We all miss you.
Prayer for Today
Dear Lord,
Some friends are here for only a brief moment, but their lives leave an indelible mark on us. Thank you for caring about all the Stephanie’s…the throw-away kids. Lord, my office is yours today. When people walk in, let me be quick to breathe a prayer. They may only be in my life a short time, but maybe like Stephanie, they will bless me beyond measure. Help me to be a light as she was, Lord. Caring more for others, than for myself. Always to have a smile, a kind word, even when I’m hurting. And always Lord, let me point them to you.
In Jesus name,
Amen
Jerri Tuck –
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