“…from generation to generation we will recount your praise” -- Psalm 79:13
This is an article I should have written long ago. But I kept putting it off, assuming that the special blessing in our family would continue indefinitely. What is that blessing, you ask? Well, up until my husband’s grandmother passed away last Saturday, there were four generations of disciples in our family.
Then one day in 1994, JoAnn called us and, completely out of the blue, asked where the church was meeting in her city, New Orleans. By that time, we were in the full-time ministry and living in Cincinnati, Ohio, with our year-old daughter. God moved powerfully in JoAnn’s heart as she studied the Bible with the disciples in New Orleans. What an amazing day it was when Darren was able to travel to New Orleans and baptize his mom later that year!
We always believed that if JoAnn would become a disciple, then she would be the key to helping other family members make Jesus their Lord. And that’s exactly what happened. JoAnn shared her faith with her sister, Tally, and her mom, Mildred, who both lived in the Atlanta area at the time. Tally studied the Bible and was baptized, and shortly afterward Mildred, at 80 years old, was baptized into Christ by her grandson Darren! My husband, his mom and his grandmother were all Christians—three generations of disciples!
Along the way, several other family members were baptized into Christ; plus, JoAnn met an awesome man of God in the church, Joe Perdue, and they were married in 1998. Mildred ultimately moved back to New Orleans, where she lived with Joe and JoAnn, and was a member of the New Orleans Church of Christ.
Then, in 2008, our daughter Camille (who was just a year old when her grandmother was baptized) made Jesus the Lord of her life and was baptized into Christ. Our daughter Camille, her father Darren, his mother JoAnn, and her mother Mildred were now all Christians—four generations of faithful disciples!
Our son Carson was baptized this past summer, adding to the spiritual and physical family of Christians.
It is bittersweet as we prepare for the memorial service of my husband’s beloved Grandma this week. At 97-years-old, she still lived as a faithful disciple of Jesus until her dying day. While we will miss her dearly, we are comforted to know that she is at rest with our Father in heaven.
Yes, it hurts to see one generation leave, but seeing Camille, today a 21-year-old strong, faithful woman of God, and Carson, a 17-year-old tender-hearted young man of God, I rest in the truth that God’s faithfulness continues through all generations (Psalm 100:5).
Sharon is a women’s ministry leader in the Chicago Church of Christ. Darren is an evangelist and elder in the Chicago Church of Christ.