Her Heartfelt Desire Realized

WHEN I ponder on what happened to our dear Aunt Ida my heart just glows and I cannot keep my eyes from glistening with tears of joy. What came to pass as a result of her faithful endurance in serving God and doing good to her neighbors is something I will never forget. It has been a source of encouragement to me when I get to feeling a little low.

To begin with, Aunt Ida was getting along in years and she was handicapped in many ways. For one thing, she was extremely hard of hearing. For another, she was totally dependent on others for transportation. Also her natural abilities were somewhat limited. As the years rolled by she often tripped and fell when she went up and down the stairs at the homes she visited with God’s message of truth here in Missouri. Yes, our dear Aunt Ida was one of Jehovah’s witnesses and she never gave up trying to serve Jehovah God faithfully to the best of her ability.

Nevertheless, there were times when she felt that her Christian ministry had been a failure. This was because there was no one that she could point to as a letter of recommendation, yes, someone whom she could say that she directed to the truth of God. But she continued doing her Christian work faithfully. Always willing, always smiling, that was Aunt Ida.

In 1967 Aunt Ida saw her heartfelt desire fulfilled at last. The joy that came to her that year was the result of her efforts to be a right kind of minister of God under all circumstances. For some time she had been calling on a woman down the street from where she lived. She had left this woman literature explaining the Bible and even helped her to learn something about the loving promises of God. Well, this woman died and Aunt Ida lovingly called and offered comfort to the woman’s son who lived there. She also took along some food for the family’s use during this sad time.

While Aunt Ida was visiting this son, she invited him to come to the meetings of Jehovah’s witnesses at the Kingdom Hall. Two weeks later he came, bringing with him his small son. Every Sunday he came, and Aunt Ida just beamed with happiness. At last she was helping someone toward the truth that leads to everlasting life. This may not seem much to others, but the rest of us who are in the congregation know that she accomplished something that others of us had not been able to do in years. She was blessed in directing the first Negro from our town to Jehovah God’s truth.

Aunt Ida is gone now; she died last year (1969), but she lived long enough to see this man symbolize his dedication to Jehovah God by water baptism. Also she had the joy of seeing him marry a woman that he helped to learn this precious truth. And yes, joy of joys, she saw them open up their home for use as a local meeting place for a neighborhood study of the Bible. Aunt Ida rejoiced at the privilege of attending it.

So, you can understand why I am so encouraged and touched by what happened to this humble servant of Jehovah, our dear Aunt Ida.​—Contributed.