1992 Mrs. Vann

This wonderful woman always had a smile for me. From the very first day that I came to Northwest until the last day that she came to Northwest – she always had a smile. She wore dresses like my grandmother. She had that wonderful “days gone by” perfume and powder smell like my grandmother. She always had a hug for me. I never saw her argue. I never saw her grumble.

I did not know about all of her past. I did not know all of her stories but I did know that every time that I would come through the door, Mrs. Vann would be there. Whether it was with a pot-luck dish or cleaning the kitchen, it was certain that if the doors where open, she would be there.

She got a bit slower and less able to be involved as her years grew to a close but every day that she could be with her Church family – she was there. She still had that hug for me even when standing had become a problem.

I have but a few great regrets in my life – one of them is not visiting Mrs. Vann and Mrs. Rickman in their latter years. I was young and my ministry was in full swing. They were a few of the true seniors in the young Church. I know that I overlooked a greater blessing than what Mrs. Vann gave me by not spending time with them when she could no longer come to be with her Church family. It is clear that in those days I did not get the greatest truth of Mrs. Vann’s life – the Church of her Savior was the center and stability of her life. She understood the value of the “team” of the family and found joy and strength in it.

So often today, Church has become something that someone attends not something someone is a part of. We cater to the big event of worship without truly spending our lives with the Church – the family of believers. Church is about strength, support, might, comfort, stability and true love that can only be found in close relationship with believers in Jesus Christ. It is only those true believers that know what we know and see what we see. To build a church on activity or on attendance or on learning alone is to build a weak thing. Church is not something we build it is something we are because we desire to be with those who have found Christ.

Mrs. Vann understood this commonality of faith and the strength of being part of it. It was not an essay or theology to her but rather a practical result of wisely choosing Christ. She always had a blessing for me – every time that I saw her.