For a long time I have seen the book on the coffee table in our family room. The title of it is Footprints of a Pilgrim--the Life and Loves of Ruth Bell Graham.
Another Ruth gave it to Melvine as a gift to her. Ruth Richardson Chassevent is her name. She is married to George Chassevent and recently they celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary in our church in Athens, Christian Life Worship Center in our fellowship hall.
I consider Ruth and George Chassevent to be among those of whom I would consider "pillars of the church." You can always count on them. The next day after their anniversary, George and Ruth, and their son, Ray and his wife, Gail Brown Chassevent, and their four outstanding children, Raymond, Anna, Amelia, and John, came over to our home to pray for Stephanie. It was a powerful prayer as George and Ruth prayed individually as those gathered held hands. We sense the presence of the Holy Spirit and the fervency of those prayers reached the throne of God and I believe prepared Stephanie for what she was to experience the next two weeks as she faced two hospitalizations, and God's grace sustained her through it all. Prayer made the difference, and many of you have been and are continuing to pray for Stephanie. We want to say "thank you" to all who have prayed and thought of Stephanie.
As you well know, Ruth Bell Graham is the deceased wife of the world-renowned evangelist Billy Graham. She was a devoted wife, a loving mother and grandmother, a gifted speaker and writer, and friend to many people. Her daughter Gigi Graham Tchividjian says of Ruth's writings, "Mother reveals her personality in her prose, but she reveals her heart and soul in her poetry."
It is little wonder when you read Billy Graham's latest book how much he loved Ruth, cherished her, and until the end of her long life held her hand as they sat on the porch of their home among the hill of Little Piney Cove, in North Carolina. Her influence on her children has been the hallmark of her life. It is no small wonder when you see Franklin Graham going into North Korea and China on missions of humanitarian aid and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Ruth Bell Graham grew up in China when her father was a doctor there and she went to high school in North Korea.
At one point in Ruth's growing up she decided, she thought, that she would never marry. However, as a seventeen-year-old young lady, aboard the USS McKinley, halfway across the Pacific Ocean she found her self making a list of the kind of man should would like to marry, i. e., if she ever married:
If I marry:
He must be tall when he is on his knees, as one has said, he reached all the way to Heaven.
His shoulders must be broad enough to bear the burden of a family.
His lips must be strong enough to smile,
firm enough to say no,
and tender enough to kiss.
His love must be so deep that it takes its stand in
Christ and so wide that it takes in the whole world.
He must be big enough to be gentle
and great enough to be thoughtful.
His arms must be strong enough to carry a little child.
(A rather odd list for a "confirmed spinster.")
This book by Ruth Bell Graham is one you may wish to purchase for yourself or to give as a gift to a family member or a friend. It is published by W. Publishing Group, A Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Posted on
Thu, December 15, 2011
by Hugh Morgan