Greater Love
Do you remember the first time you walked through a church door? For some, it was before your first memories, arriving in a baby carrier. For others, it was later in life, as an adult. My first memory of church was a 1st grade classroom, sitting in a circle in those little blue plastic chairs. One of my best friends would come from that very class. I also remember the teacher being engaging and kind. As I think across my years as a child at Valley View, I remember teacher after teacher who treated me with kindness, gave of themselves, and taught me God’s word.
Our memory verse for February is John 15:13-14. Verse 13 says, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus is primarily referring to his coming death in this verse, yet also the general principle holds true that the greatest act of love one can show is laying down their life for someone else. And there’s another application that points to the active and intentional living of a life of sacrifice, day after day, year after year, living your life to serve others, saying no to self and yes to Christ and his plans.
A Lasting Legacy
Behind all of those selfless Sunday School teachers I encountered was a person who was giving leadership to them and our Children’s Ministry for all of those years: Eddie Lee Brooks. For forty-four years she has served our Children, and as a result, our church, and our community. In fact, it’s no exaggeration to say that all of Southwest Louisville has been changed by her influence. Even our city and state government recognized this at her retirement party this past Sunday. If you missed it, you were one of the few not there. It was a powerful evening, and there are two memories that stood out to me.
The first occurred during the time of sharing. A number of people that have served alongside Eddie Lee shared memories and encouraging stories during the main program. Some were from long ago, and some still serve with her. It was fitting that the last person to share was Eddie Lee herself. One of the things she shared was, (and I’m paraphrasing loosely from memory), “I’m not good at music, I don’t do art, I’m not great up front, but one gift God has given me is the ability to remember names. And it’s always been important to me that a child knows that I know their name. When you know a child’s name they know you love them.” There’s no doubt that Eddie Lee has loved our children well. And if you love a child well, you are showing love to their parents in one of the most profound ways possible.
The second memory was not one shared at the event, but afterwards. Eddie Lee shared with me yesterday that she wanted a full list of everyone who attended the retirement party, but we didn’t do any kind of registration or sign-in at the event. So she sat down and made a list, from memory, of every person she met, talked with, or saw across the room. She said, “The total is up to 399.” Not only does she remember your child’s name – she knows your name as well.
Greater love has no one than to lay down their life for a friend. Eddie Lee Brooks laid down her life for the children in our church for forty-four years, and we’re all better off because of her. I’m excited to see how God continues to build on the foundation and legacy left behind through Eddie Lee’s efforts. I believe our best years are still ahead of us!