This past Sunday I had the opportunity to preach at Tucapau Baptist Church in Startex, a community close to Lyman.  It was “Ola Mae Cothran Day.”  Ola is one of Laura’s aunts.  She is 93 and has been teaching Sunday School for 80 years.  She started with a little class of little children.  Still very active, she is loved and revered by everyone in that church.  I have known that for years, but I never realized just how deeply she is loved by that family of faith.

She is the complete picture of consistency.  She has walked with the Lord faithfully all of her life.  She is just as solid today as she was when I came into the family almost 30 years ago.  If you wanted to see a picture of “the last shall be first” you could not find a better example than what I saw Sunday.  The people crowded around her to express their love and appreciation.  There were testimonies to her faithfulness and how she had made such an impact on so many lives.  She took it all in with her usual kindness and deep humility.

I have thought about this a lot and I can say with confidence that I have never seen a person more unselfish than Ola.  She has a continuous desire to serve the Lord.  And she is not finished yet.

Last night we took Ola and Laura’s other aunt, Bunt (who by the way, is just as devoted as Ola) to eat.  As we were riding along, Ola began to talk about how her church could go ahead and pay off a building project.  She was looking to the future.  While Sunday was great, she will never receive all the accolades she deserves in this life.  But that has never been her goal.  She just wants to serve the Lord.  She continues to have a great impact on my life and she is a true “champion of the faith.”