A Time of Joy

It's been nearly 25 years since this photo was taken. In fact, it was April 29, 1983, and it was the very first date I ever had with my yet to be bride, Bobbi Kaufman. The pic brings back so many memories. It was our first prom and we were only 16 years old. Yes, Bobbi does look a little like Princess Di doesn't she? I, unfortunately, look a little like Prince Charles. :-/

I remember nervously going to her door with corsage in hand, and being greeted by a little fireball boston terrier named Precious. This little dog could jump up over 5 feet from the floor and lick your face before you knew what had happened. It was also the day I would meet my future mother-in-law, Kay Kaufman.

Kay was born in Curlew, Iowa on June 2, 1938. She had a dry sense of humor, like her carpenter father, Harold Ward, and she would take 30 minutes to eat a piece of toast...buttering every bite while she kept the family and the past close at hand with one anecdote after another. There is so much that can be said about Kay; she suffered with crohns' disease since the age of 16, enduring dozens of life threatening surgeries and outliving doctors' predictions by decades. To hug her was to hold a tiny lady in your arms. Her child-sized frame was accented by her perfect posture, and her manners were regal, but her most defining characteristic was her faith in Christ.

To know Kay was to know the heart of an apostle. To talk with Kay was to have before you the living scriptures, and one who cared for your very soul. I recall that afternoon in April when we first met. We hardly had exchanged niceties before she inquired as to my faith. Now, many might mistakenly think this was simply a mom sizing up a potential suiter for her daughter...well maybe just a little, but you should know she did that to everyone. My soul would've been equally important to her if we had met in a grocery store checkout line.

Kay endured more than just physical challenges with a grace I can only aspire to in this life. When asked about her own desire for healing, she responded as the apostle Paul stating, "His grace is sufficient." Her patience and faith became even more remarkable later in life when she underwent years of dialysis treatments, advanced chemotherapy for recurring cancers, and an almost unthinkable regimen of medications. Still, she glowed with the joy of the Lord.

Kay went on to her reward just a week before last Christmas. She had asked that her service not be about us, but "all about Him," and it was. The pastor recounted her faithfulness with a joy that can only be explained by the blessed assurance of salvation that a life such as Kay brings to all who knew her. He extended an invitation at the end of her celebration service, and 5 people responded and were saved for the Kingdom of Heaven. Never have I known such joy during a time of loss. Never before have I known a sweeter sadness. They say that the Angels rejoice when a lost soul finds the way home. Perhaps we felt their joy over the 5 that found the way home, and perhaps we felt the joy of the Lord as He held Kay in His arms.