CHAPTER NINE - PRESERVED FOR THE KINGDOM

CHAPTER NINE

PRESERVED FOR THE KINGDOM

"Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb......the Lord
shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve
me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory forever
and ever. Amen." Psalms 139:13; 11 Timothy 4:8

Outside the closed door, the little girl crouched in fear. Screams from the woman behind the door penetrated the night air. Putting her hands over her ears, she tried to make sense out of it all. Many times her mother had come to this house. It was always the same. Locked doors. Screams. Blood.

It was many years later she was to discover that she alone, of all her mother's babies, had escaped the abortionists scalpel.

At seven years of age she was sent to live with Aunt Nissy and Uncle Bill. More than once she wanted to quell the sound of Aunt Nissy's condemning voice. Resenting the fact she had to take care of her niece, Nissy would scream, "You've ruined my life, brat. You're going to be a tramp just like your alcoholic mother."

Life makes funny turns. Instead of becoming a down and outer like her mother, Lou went to the top of society. She was what I call an “up and outer.” Sometimes they're the hardest fish of all to catch!

Lou's husband was our family doctor. He enjoyed a good reputation in our town. His waiting room was always full. He had that unique bedside manner that made you feel as if you, of all his patients, were special.

I didn't know much about his wife except that she was always busy in the community, including being our Congressman's "Girl Friday". If you had a problem that could be solved politically you called Lou, and she would do her best to help. She loved people, too. When she heard of Jeanette's son David, dying of leukemia, she was one of the first to go the hospital to encourage the family. Giving them a self-help book, she did her best to bring comfort to the family in crisis.

Self-help. That was the key phrase in her life. Lou was diligently seeking help for herself. Very few people in our town knew that the doctor's wife, living in a large brick home with a swimming pool and tennis court, was desperately seeking an answer to life; something to fill the emptiness that was always present.

She had read many books on self-improvement, but they only left her frustrated. There had to be something more. She began going with a close friend to visit fortune tellers and tarot card readers in Atlanta.

Wanting to remember every word spoken to her, she would use her recorder to tape the sessions, but to no avail. Though her friend’s recorder would always work, when she would get home to listen to her tapes, they were blank.

She began reading the works of Edgar Cayce and other clairvoyants. Soon her books had run into thousands of dollars but still no answer. Her husband, always ready to encourage her, never minimized her intense quest for the answer to life. He knew it was something she had to do.

With her three children grown and living on their own, the big brick home provided quiet solitude. The long hours the doctor worked gave Lou a lot of time to continue her search for a meaning for her life. What was her purpose for being here anyway?
For what purpose had God preserved her life?

Before moving to Cochran Lou had several close escapes from death. While living in Conyers, Georgia, Lou and her family were providentially away from home when a tornado ripped the entire roof off their house. Another time she hit a moving train and miraculously escaped serious injuries.

Now, years later, it seemed that every avenue she had searched was virtually a dead end. Maybe she needed to own a business of her own. Perhaps she would feel fulfilled in this way. It was worth a try. She spent long hours working and though it was fun, it turned out to be another futile attempt at finding peace in her soul.
Through the years that Lou was on her search, I would see her from time to time.

Not ashamed to let people know where I stood about God, she and I had talked on more than one occasion about the Lord. When you're secure in what you believe and why you believe it, people can be somewhat intimidated. I had no idea when I would go into Lou's sandwich shop that she was hiding from me.

"There's that Jerri Tuck," she would whisper to a co-worker. "Tell her I'm not in." Then hiding until I had finished eating, she would come back to the lunch counter. "That woman's scares me," she would say.

Later I had a good laugh over this story when Lou recounted the episode to me. "Goodness, Lou!" I retorted back in mock indignation, "All I wanted was a sandwich! I wasn't coming to get you!"

One day I got a call from Lou. In tears, she was begging me to come by and see her in an hour. Then before the hour was up, she called and told me to forget it. This went on for over a week. Desperate calls from Lou and then cancellations. Finally, in desperation, she let me come to her house.

As she lay on her bed, recuperating from a recent back surgery, she told me of the trials she was going through. Besides her search for reality, she had problems in her family she was dealing with. I prayed with her that day, and it wasn't long before I started seeing a change in Lou. She no longer avoided me. Instead of new age literature, she started reading Christian books.

During this season in my life, I was actively involved with Women's Aglow Fellowship. Twice a year they held retreats where women from all denominations could go and be spiritually refreshed. Since we were nearing the time for our fall retreat I invited Lou to attend. To my surprise she accepted. I was elated! The theme of the retreat was “The Wedding Invitation.”

Trembling with anticipation, Lou went to each meeting. Surely God was going to reveal Himself and His purpose for her. Over the weeks and months that we had been talking, Lou was beginning to see her spiritual vacuum could only be filled by the Lord.

During the last night of the retreat, a young woman (Barbara Gleeson) stood at the pulpit and began to sing the sweetest song in the Spirit. As she sang, Lou could only see Jesus, her bridegroom, beckoning her to Himself.

Like the Shulamite woman in Solomon's love song, who had searched and searched for her bridegroom, she had at last found Him. The quest was over. This was why God had preserved her life, from the earliest stirrings in her mother's womb, to the roaring of an oncoming train.

As we left the conference center, Lou literally glowed. "Oh Jerri," she exclaimed in wonder, "isn't Jesus precious? I don't remember a thing about last night, only that I know He's in here now." Placing her hand over her heart, she breathed deeply. "I know He's here. He'll always be here."

I never cease to be amazed at the change that takes place in someone who receives Christ. Talk about a book-burning. All the books by Edgar Cayce and other clairvoyants were destroyed. Her husband was thrilled at the change he saw in Lou. They began to experience a closeness they had never before known.

Only one year after receiving Christ, the Lord took her precious husband home. But Lou was okay. She had Jesus, and He said He would never leave her. At his funeral the Lord pulled back the curtain of eternity and their deaf daughter Margaret saw a vision of her daddy. In a mist she saw him ascending a ladder. Then she "heard" a voice saying, "Come on Charlie. Come on up." The doctor was home.

Today I count Lou as one of my dearest friends. It's been many years since her husband passed away. No longer on an unending search for fulfillment, Lou spends her time blessing others. At the time of the writing of this book she had a little granddaughter named "Charlie" who was named after her deceased husband, Charlie Brooks. Lou spent many happy hours babysitting during those early years of her life. Today Charlie is a devoted Christian and is studying at the University of Georgia to become a pharmacist.
Several years after her husband passed away their son William sent word to me that his wife was in labor. Jumping in the car, I prayed, "Lord, please let this baby be okay." William's wife had been suffering with kidney stones. It was to be a long night as Lou and I sat, reminiscing about all of the Lord's goodness to us, and praying for this little one about to be born into the world.

"Jerri! We have a baby," Lou shouted. I guess I had dozed. It was 3:30 in the morning. Rushing into the labor room with Lou, we heard the baby cry. A girl. We started hugging and dancing. Then abruptly, this grandmother fell on her knees in front of a chair and with folded hands, I heard her saying over and over, "Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus." I was so touched with this scene. My eyes filled with tears.


This little baby, like Lou many years ago, had been covered in her mother's womb...preserved for His heavenly kingdom. Driving home in the wee hours of that morning, I talked with my Father. "Oh, Lord thank you for sparing Lou's life when she was in her mother’s womb. Thank you for preserving her through the tornado and most of all, thank you for saving her and letting me be her friend." "My good friend, Lou Brooks - Christmas Parade 2010"

Dear reader, this story is not over. There are many more people out there just like Lou, like William's baby, Sierra. They've been preserved. They're waiting for someone to tell them their reason for being. They're asking why? I hear their voices. Don't you?

Prayer for Today

Dear Lord,

Each life is such a miracle. When I think of the many aborted babies, my heart grieves. Oh, Lord, perhaps the person you send my way today may be like Lou. Someone spared from the abortion’s scalpel; someone that you have ordained to eternal life. Please help me to be sensitive today dear Lord. Dear Lord… especially bless those who are in the midst of the battle for the lives of the unborn.

In Jesus name,

Amen