My mother-in-law Ann Mandel was a little old church lady. My Great-Grandmom Schum and Grandmom Robidoux, from each side of the family, were little old church ladies, and best of all for me, my neighbor, Mrs. Henderson, was also a little old church lady.
I have been immersed in the world of little old church ladies since before I was born. Individually, they’ve each played a role. But it was this combination that was an unstoppable force; a force for good put together by God to break the threat to my very existence.
I must give Mrs. Henderson extra credit, because she loved her neighbor (me) as herself. Without her guidance I don’t know when I might have found Christ. She took me to church in the backseat of her car many times (too many to count) and she spoke to me about my need of a Savior. As the years passed she would actually one day put me and my future wife in her backseat and take us to church, together.
Coming home from church that same evening, in a different friend’s car, we shared our first kiss. And we still kiss, even now, more than 40 years later.
No one can appreciate little old church ladies more than I do. These ladies are all that stood between me and a life of utter chaos, if not worse. So always try to remember, you must beware of these people, because they are an unstoppable force that can move even you to places and things you’ve never even dreamed of.
Jim Robidoux is father of four, lives and works in Manchester, and writes about life in The Life Section – specifically, his own. He enjoys bicycling to work, urban gardening, exploring his Christian faith, and watching the Phillies at Billy’s. And he happens to be married to Manchester Ink Link editor Carol Robidoux.
