Clay in the Hands

I want to tell you about a friend of mine.  I got a call last night that my good friend had gone on to be with the Lord.  She had to have some stints put in a couple of weeks ago and while she was in the hospital, she decided to go ahead and have a pace maker put in.  She has been feeling a little tired lately and it has begun to affect what all she felt like doing.

You see, she had a job at the hospital “sitting with the old people,”  and she needed to regain some of her energy in order to keep doing the things she loved to do – caring for people.

She had the pace maker put in and everything went fine.  But a day after going home from the hospital, she experienced a massive stroke – a stroke from which she was unable to recover.

All of this is very sad and some might even say tragic.  Why would a person with such a giving spirit (and at times a little stubborn) have to endure all of this?

Let me add a bit of information that will not make it any less sad, but it might just bring a peace in the situation.  Ettie was 92.  Most 92 year olds I know (which is not a large number) would most likely have not decided to try the pace maker.  The risks were too great and the pay-off too small.  But Ettie was determined that if she was going to live to be 100 (which was her goal) then she did not want to do it sitting around.

That is a testimony of a true servant of God.  I have found Ettie to be pretty inspirational to me for the 8 years I have known her.  But I think she is even more inspirational now.  How can I sit back and think, “I will sit this one out and let someone step up and do it.” when a 92 year old lady was willing to undergo a heart procedure in order to have more energy to keep on going?

Ettie, you will be missed, especially by me.  But you never quit!  You fought the good fight, you finished the race – and you did it well!