“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” – Psalm 116:15 (ESV)

As I have written, we lost my mother-in-law, Carolyn, in early October following a tragic accident on a Florida bridge. Because her husband, Jack, was still in critical condition, we decided to postpone Carolyn’s funeral until Jack had recovered sufficiently to be able to attend.

There is beauty all around us, even as we grieve. Give thanks!

We held the funeral on Saturday, November 11, at Jack and Carolyn’s parish in northern Florida, and it was beautiful —  joyous and solemn at the same time. As part of the service, my sister-in-law, Jane Hinson Wald, delivered the following remarks, and I asked her permission to share them with you here in their entirety. Enter Jane:

It’s difficult to convey in a few brief minutes our mother’s depth of character and personality. But that’s probably not even necessary, because no matter in what way each of us has known her, she was always and everywhere the very same Carolyn.

Mother loved the times when her family – any part of it or all of it – could get together even as we are here and now. These times were full of love and fun and, often, quite a bit of silliness. But these gatherings didn’t just happen. Oh, no. Carolyn planned, cooked, and choreographed so each occasion was the best it could be for every one of us. To get ready for these events, she made lists. The lists might begin days ahead or weeks or even months ahead. She went through all her preparations with energy and creativity, sometimes a little over-extended, but always with the ultimate goal front and center: the comfort and pleasure of those she loved.

Don’t think she didn’t make lists for today.

Last Sunday, on the Feast of All Saints, the readings included a list of eight promises, the beatitudes from the gospel of Matthew. I used to think of each one directed toward a different individual or group so that Jesus could offer assurance to followers who grappled with various flaws and exhibited various gifts. But in that moment, I heard only a list summarizing our mother’s life.

Blessed are the humble in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who suffer for righteousness’ sake.

Now that we’re making a list, there are a few more things to enumerate.

Carolyn was fun and spirited. Our mother had an innate sense of playfulness that knew no generation, and a sense of humor that indulged a healthy dose of irony. Perhaps this had something to do with being the only girl in a family with six brothers. Most endearing were her ability to laugh at herself and her pleasure in letting a story or situation run to its hilarious and improbable end. She told stories on herself – such as the time she was racing down the road, late for work, when another driver caught her attention to tell her that our family cat was hanging on for dear life to the roof of the car; or the time she searched hours and hours for the shoes that were on her feet.

Carolyn had a lively mind, vibrant curiosity, and ever-present eagerness to know more. She read constantly, especially biography, theology, current events and civic affairs. Jack has said that she knew the definition of every word they came across. It’s true. She had an enthusiasm for words, the power of words, and for “grammatical correctness.” All of this had a lot to do with her sense of humor.

Carolyn was patriotic. She cared deeply about her country and what it stood for. She had her own youthful rebellion against New Deal politics and was very clear about the importance of the Constitution and Bill of Rights and all that flowed from those founding documents. In fact, she hung framed copies of them in the family of her house where they remain to this day. My brother remembers that more than 50 years ago, Mother subscribed to the Congressional Record and there were stacks of them around the house. It’s hard to imagine, in this day of TV and internet news, wading through issues of the Congressional Record. More recently, her self-appointed duty was to carry her country’s flag down the driveway from the house in Starke to the flagpole near the road.

Carolyn was beautiful, inside and out. As a child, I used to think of our Mother as looking a bit like a movie star. Elizabeth Taylor came to mind, but that probably had more to do with the 1960s hairdo than their actual features. (And there was something about my Dad’s eyebrows that reminded me of Gregory Peck — but what kid doesn’t want to have movie stars as her parents?). Of course, it was her inner beauty that made her true outer beauty shine. Her warmth, gentleness, patience, and kindness made an immediate first impression, which only deepened on further acquaintance, which she generally turned into friendship.

Carolyn was loving and nurturing. In her more than six decades as a wife, mother, and grandmother, she created a loving and stimulating home and a beautiful and nourishing environment. Music and art and books were everywhere in her home. Her love of music and art was infectious and all of her descendants caught this bug. After years of attending concerts and performances, she eventually took up performance herself by joining church choir and civic chorus. Mother had an eye for color and design. She created a home – a house she kept for visits of children and grandchildren after moving to Starke with her beloved Jack — a home that was visually arresting. Wandering through her home, the eye falls on all kinds of photographs, prints, and objects that had some meaning and memory in them for her and for those she loved — a place she filled with little gifts for contemplation, resting spots for the soul.

Our mother was clever, industrious, and resourceful. She was an accomplished seamstress who decorated herself, her children, and her house with her own hands. Just weeks before her youngest child was born, she was out on the carport refinishing an armoire for her new baby’s things. She had an engineering kind of mind that allowed her to fashion conveniences out of bits and pieces of other things. Just last night, we were trying to figure out the purpose of her creations that involved a throw pillow, oddly placed loops of cording, and elastic bands. One of us predicted that we’d be discovering some of her contraptions, or “booby-traps” for some time to come.

As a mother, she always available, always listened, always helped, always created memorable moments for each individual in her life. Something as small making a birthday cake in the shape of a pumpkin (I was born the day after Halloween) to the big productions of weddings, reunions and holidays.

But lest you get the idea that she was too sweet, you need to know that Carolyn was also resilient and determined. She met numerous physical challenges head-on and willed herself into recovery with a determination to keep active and able. She made herself overcome doubts about things she didn’t like to do. For example, she didn’t like to fly, but when my daughter was born, our father called her a “miracle baby” because Mother got on a plane to come take care of her grandchild. Mother took her sense of adventure on the road, for many years driving by herself up and down the east coast and over to Tennessee to visit her children and grandchildren and family. And then she and Jack, who shared and expanded her sense of adventure, did that very thing together.

Carolyn was faithful. Her faith, her love for the Lord, was the bedrock of her being, the center of her own self. Our Mother was on a lifelong journey to grow closer to God. So much so that she learned Greek so she could read scriptures in original language, taught Bible classes, and mentored others on the same journey. She instilled this same dedication to seeking after truth in her children and, to her credit, it’s a characteristic of every one of her grandchildren.

Carolyn was and is ageless. The wisdom she earned through her years of life experience was offset by an outlook and inner sense of self that embraced a youthful inner sense of self. She admitted that she thought of herself as a twenty-something, with all the optimism and possibility that goes with a youthful spirit. Her self-awareness of her inner life corresponded to a sense and promise of eternal life. Especially in these last five years with her beloved husband Jack Lakes, it seemed that the things important to her deepened, and the things that were not easily fell away. She became a distillation of all those wonderful qualities we recognize in her, a more pure version of herself.

Blessed are the humble in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who suffer for righteousness’ sake.

Which of these doesn’t describe Carolyn Scobey Hinson Lakes? The list of blessings promised to her are that she has been comforted, inherited the earth, been filled with righteousness and obtained mercy. She’s been named a child of God and has gained the kingdom of heaven. Even now, she sees God face to face.”

Since we in the US are celebrating Thanksgiving this week, I’m sharing these thoughts with you with deep gratitude to God for the blessings of this life — especially for my wife and the family that made her who she is. Although we miss Carolyn and we will continue to, we are giving thanks in all things, and rejoicing that we will be together again.

So how about you? For what are you giving thanks in this season? Add your comments below.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 (ESV)

Today, I want to tell you a story that contains another story. A young friend of mine texted and asked me to recommend some Bible verses to encourage him because he was lonely. I understood why. He had broken up with his girlfriend and, because he had just returned to our area after a year’s absence, most of his friends were two states away.

Judah and Tamar as depicted in “The Bible and Its Story”

The cure for loneliness

I commend this young man’s approach, since so many of us look for comfort everywhere else but to God. And the Bible has plenty of comfort and encouragement to offer, along with more than your minimum daily requirement of Vitamin W — wisdom.

In this case, I thought it might be more helpful for my friend to engage with a story instead of a to-do list. Great songwriters will teach you that it’s better to show rather than tell, so I suggested to my friend that he might find some comfort in the stories of Daniel and Joseph in the Old Testament. Both are accounts of young men taken away from everything familiar and persevering in faithfulness. He said he’d like to read about Joseph, so I gave him the scriptural coordinates.

Joseph’s story as inspiration

If you’re interested, you can read Joseph’s story in the book of Genesis — the first book of the Bible — starting in chapter 37. The story is worth your time — a tale of a favored son who is betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, experiences several highs and lows, and ends up providentially positioned to demonstrate faithfulness and forgiveness. I wrote about one episode from Joseph’s life here a couple of years ago.

We interrupt this program…

I thought my friend would enjoy the story of Joseph and find some comfort in relating to Joseph’s periods of loneliness and how he remained resilient. I forgot that just as the story of Joseph gets rolling, the writer of Genesis breaks in to tell the story of Judah and Tamar. You can read it in Genesis 38 — it’s just one chapter long — but let me summarize it.

Judah and Tamar

Joseph’s brother Judah got married and had three sons. The oldest, named Er, married a girl named Tamar but died childless. Judah told his second son, Onan, to sleep with his sister-in-law to give her children and preserve his brother’s family line. Onan slept with her, all right, but instead of inseminating Tamar, every time he had sexual relations with her, he released his semen outside her. Some Bible translations say, “he spilled his seed on the ground.” This disobedience invited God’s judgment on Onan, so God took his life.

Judah said his third son was too young to get married, so he invited Tamar to live as a widow in his house until the boy was old enough. Eventually,Tamar noticed that the promised son was old enough to be her husband but that Judah apparently wasn’t going to keep his word.

So Tamar did what any godly woman would do: she disguised herself as a prostitute and seduced the recently widowed Judah. In the heat of his passion, he told the supposed prostitute that he left his wallet in his other robe. She said he could pay her later, but that she would take his staff, his seal, and his sash — the unmistakable signifiers of his identity and status — as collateral.

They do it. The next day Judah sends a servant to pay the lady, but the locals say there are no prostitutes working in their neighborhood. Judah shrugs it off, rationalizing that at least he tried to pay her.

Then Judah hears that his widowed daughter-in-law has disgraced the family by becoming pregnant. He orders her execution, commanding that she be burned alive. She tells him that the man who put her in this condition is the owner of the staff, cord, and seal. Judah says she is more righteous than he is, and he does not take her into his bed again.

The story ends with the birth of twins named Perez and Zerah. Then we get right back to the story of Joseph already in progress.

What was that all about?

Judah and Tamar’s story is like those occasions where a tv station inadvertently runs adult programming during a kid’s show. My friend wondered, as you might, why that story appears in the Bible.

I’m going to provide my thoughts on why this story appears as it does, and the lessons and encouragement we can all take from it. Go ahead and subscribe via the bar at the top of this page, and you’ll get an email from me as soon as I hit “Publish” on Part II.

So how about you? What do you make of the story of Judah and Tamar? Add your comments below.