I
just saw in the newspaper today that Mrs. Izola Collins died. She was 87 years old. We didn’t know her very well, but from the
limited connection we had with her, we were nothing short of impressed. We met her when we were taking the water
exercise class a while back. The class
has since disbanded, so we really haven’t seen her since. We did get to talk to her before and after
class on occasion, however.
The
newspaper talked at length about her love of and skill at music. She was a B.O.I. (Born On the Island) who graduated from high school at age 14 and
continued on for bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music. She led music events of all kinds here on the
island. In fact, I had the honor of
being invited to be a part of one of her productions. One day after water exercise, she stopped me
and asked if I “had a moment or two to speak” with her. Now, understand that at the time I was in the
process of growing out my hair and beard for Christmas. Not to play Jesus or one of the apostles in a
Christmas pageant (although I have done
that in the past). See, for some
reason my hair and beard have decided to morph into the realm of children’s
delight. That’s another way of saying
they are turning gray and white. And the
longer they get, the more they resemble a certain storied figure associated
with the Christmas season. Mrs. Izola
recognized my potential and asked, ever so politely, if I would be interested
in playing Santa Claus at the upcoming musical performance at her church. “We can’t offer you money,” she said, “But I’m
fairly certain you will have an opportunity to make some people smile.” Now how could I refuse an offer like
that? I brought along some candy canes
and tied onto each a little story about its similarities to a shepherd’s crook
and its red and white stripes reminding of the blood of Jesus that wipes clean our
problem with sin. I walked down the
center aisle giving away candy canes. I stopped
to kneel in prayer at the front of the church for a moment or two before
leaving with a few “Ho, ho, ho’s.” Mrs.
Izola, ever the encourager, said it was “just what I had hoped for.”
One final
thought about Mrs. Izola … as much as she was involved with music, she loved
her family and her Jesus. Just about every
time we talked she had something to say about her kids and about wanting them
to always be close to Jesus. Now that’s
an honorable desire for any Mom to have.
1
Thessalonians 3:12-13 says, “May the Lord
make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just
as ours does for you. May he strengthen
your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God
and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.”
Father,
would you honor the desire Mrs. Izola had for her kids and draw them close to
you as they walk through this difficult time.
And would you welcome Mrs. Izola with open arms. Amen.
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