Some months ago I told you about Anna’s struggle with short-term memory. The doctors simply call it “probable Alzheimer’s.” She has done fairly well, but unlike many people she has something powerful going for her: a strong faith.
As a kid she memorized the Bible passage, 1 Corinthians 10:13. In the King James Version it says this: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
She has wrapped this verse around herself and held on tightly for a lifetime. In our early years when things went wrong and I fretted, she smiled sweetly and said, “God will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear.”
In the 1970s in South Africa, Anna made good use of the permits given to us as missionaries to visit the huge African-only area Soweto. She went there to teach school classes and attend weekly women’s meetings to encourage African women in their faith. Every Sunday, she and I attended church services at an African church in the township.
During that time of apartheid, racial tensions existed, and even some fellow missionaries would ask Anna if she felt afraid visiting Soweto. She usually just smiled, knowing God would not allow her to face bad situations without giving her a way to escape. Some worried what she would do if her car broke down. She’d answer with her sweet smile and say little.
One day when driving through Soweto with another missionary woman, a tire blew, stopping the car. Rather quickly, a group of African men surrounded the car. When she rolled down the window, one of them said, “You have a problem. Can we help you?” They quickly jacked up the car, changed the wheel, put the flat in the trunk and wished her well as she drove away.
God had given her a way to escape by sending rescuers from among the people others had told her to fear.
On another occasion, Anna had a more serious problem. When travelling with two other missionary women through Soweto, two white men in a car forced them off the road. They identified themselves as policemen and asked for their permits. Their permits had expired because the new ones had failed to arrive. The women had considered it more important to keep their commitment to their African friends then to obey the letter of the law, so had knowingly ignored the expired permits. After threats to carry them off to jail, the officers relented and issued summons.
Anna must have been worried throughout that adventure, but I don’t recall that she showed it. Once again, the Lord provided a way of escape: the court prosecutor threw out the case because the government had failed to mail the permits on time.
Anna and I no longer spend time overseas, however that doesn’t mean the problems of life have left us. Now we face the aches and pains of growing older and Anna deals with the issue of loss of short-term memory. Despite this major difficulty, she still smiles sweetly and clings to her faith.