Another person who has passed to the other side! I really don’t know the exact impact you had on my life, but I do know that you loved God with all your heart and taught His Word. I was just too young to appreciate you before your untimely death. I look forward one day to sitting down with you and sharing life. I’m sure there is so much more that I could learn from you. You would be so proud of your grandchildren, some in ministry and some serving in secular life. I’m convinced that one of the reasons that I am in ministry today is because of you and your prayers for your grandchildren. In 1993, I wrote a piece about you. I am going to include it below. I pray that God will let you know that I am so thankful for the impact you had on my life. Love, Patty P.S. Just a little bit of trivial information, but I collect salt and pepper shakers now (mainly Christmas ones)…I do it in remembrance of you, Settie Portier. Sort of odd I know, but keeps thoughts of you in my life.
All Things Great and Small by Patty Portier Wade, 1993.
This year marks the 25th year since I received Christ as my Savior as an eight year old child. When I look back at some of the people God used to bring me to that point and exemplify God’s faithfulness through their lives, two every contrasting persons come to mind; a godly grandmother who few people knew very well (including myself) because of her untimely death and a faithful pastor who would leave our church and later become nationally known. God chooses all things great and small to do his will.
I was born to Christian parents who took me to a Baptist church in Kentucky every Sunday. My grandmother was a well-respected Christian in our community. She taught religion classes for the public school, was known for her ability to teach the scripture and enjoyed reading any book by H. A. Ironside, D. L. Moody or F. B. Meyer. Although she was a member and very active in another Baptist church in our town, she dearly loved our pastor and enjoyed his teaching immensely. As a grandmother, she instilled simple godly teachings in our lives, even as small children. One year their church made my grandparents the sweetheart “King and Queen” because of their respected godly lives. They were both dear to our family.
From an early age God’s word came alive for me through the ministry of my church. I can remember outstanding children’s Sunday school programs learning those wonderful Bible stories and songs. Our church’s main book was not a Sunday school quarterly but the Bible. An offering plate was not passed in our services, but rather there were “boxes” at each of the exits that you would put your tithes and offerings into each Sunday. I watched my father put our family’s “envelope” in every week. Above all, we had a pastor who studied and presented God’s word in such a way that an appetite for more of God’s Word was created. Although the age of his congregation included six year old children, he managed to hold our attention and teach us about God.
One Sunday, when I was eight years old, I was listening to our pastor and understood for the first time that I needed to personally accept Christ as my Savior. As I went forward that Sunday to publicly acknowledge Christ as Savior, I am sure God was answering the prayers of a godly grandmother using the teaching ability of a pastor who taught simplistically enough for a child to understand.
During the next couple of years, I began my slow but forward walk as a child in Christ. I thought everything was normal in our family except I later learned that my grandmother who had suffered some sickness was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent surgery to remove the cancer. She seemed to recover fully or at least I as a child didn’t give it much more thought after things settled down.
A day came however, when things were not as “normal.” An unexpected phone call during dinner, discreet conversations, and serious looks on my parent’s faces indicated to me that something was not quite right. After only a couple of years the cancer that invaded my grandmother had returned. This time it was located in her bones and the outlook was not promising. For the next year, I watched as my dear grandmother’s body deteriorated slowly away. I am certain my grandmother and my family had their low days and wondered why God allowed such as awful disease to overtake my grandmother; however, not one time can I ever remember her or any one else in my family blaming God.
Her death was inevitable and now that I am an adult married to a minister, I often long to be able to sit down and talk to her about the Lord. However, I do remember one of her last request that made a lasting impression upon me and perhaps was her greatest gift to us. It was not so much the request, but the response from the Lord. As written earlier, although she attended another church, she dearly loved our pastor and it was her last desire that he perform her funeral service in her church. Perhaps, my grandmother saw the great potential in our pastor as a man of God or perhaps she felt he reminded her of her favorite authors Dr. Ironside or Mr. Moody. Whatever the case, only our family knew of this request. At her church a new young pastor had come and she in no way wanted to hurt him or make him feel his ministry was less important, so she remained silent concerning her desire.
After a year of living in physical pain and suffering, my grandmother slipped into eternity in the presence of Her Lord. No more suffering, nor more longing, just perfect peace at last. The week of my grandmother’s funeral her young pastor was called out of town because his own father was near death. Our pastor was asked to perform the service and he was happy and willing to assist our family. A final small heart’s desire of my grandmother illustrated the verse, “Delight thyself also in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalms 37:4. She spent her life serving God and although her last request may have seemed insignificant, it was a great answer to prayer and left such an impression in my mind.
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