In Loving Memory Sis Shirley Savage "Letting Go"

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Preached At Bro David Webb's Church 

In Loving Memory 1939-2025

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:04):
Just this week, an old acquaintance I saw, and uh I
was telling him, I said, Well,Wednesday, and in fact, it was
just this past Wednesday, wecelebrated our sixty-second
anniversary.

(00:26):
And I said, and I'm only eighty.
And he looked at me and he says,Is that all?
So I know you probably think I'm90, but I haven't got there yet.
But we thank the good Lord foreveryone here today.
We thank you for inviting us andfor your wonderful pastor and

(00:51):
his wife.
Sometimes we ladies are leftout.
But she's done a wonderful job,and we're so happy for all of
you that are considered seniorcitizens.
Did you know you can't be asenior citizen and be a sissy?

(01:15):
Amen.
Or a wimp.
Life is full of all kinds ofchanges, and young people, the
sooner you realize that, thebetter off you'll be.
So life is full of all kinds ofchanges and letting go.

(01:41):
You know, when a baby isfirstborn, the mother just
cuddles it and holds it, and forhours it's being held day after
day, until finally the mothersays, I can't keep on like this,
and she has to lay that babydown.
But the baby doesn't want to laydown, it wants to stay in that

(02:03):
mama's arms, it wants to stillbe cuddled, but it has to
realize there's a letting go.
And then there comes the timewhen the mother takes that child
and they go to a big buildingit's never been to before, and

(02:24):
see these strange people and allthese strange children.
And the mother says, You'regonna have to stay here today
because this is school, and goesoff and leaves that little one
and tears streaming down theircheeks.
You mean I've got to stay withthis strange woman and these

(02:47):
strange kids?
They have to learn to let go.
Yes, there's a change, and thenit comes to the time of
graduation.
And many of you young peoplehere, you've you have faced
that, you've turned that page inyour life.

(03:11):
And my what a change that is,and mama, it's a big change for
her to learning to let go.
Learning to let go.
Oh, but then the big thing iswhen that son comes home and

(03:32):
says, Well, I've just prepareduh proposed tonight and I'm
gonna get married.
Or that young girl says, Oh, I'mgetting ready for a big wedding
changes, changes, and learningto let go all through life, and

(04:01):
then before we ever realize it,these things we've already
faced, and now we're facing.
I'm a senior citizen, and itcomes before we are really ready
for it.
Aging usually means you'regiving up something you've had

(04:27):
for a long time, and it's notalways easy.
This past several months, well,this past year, I have had, I
guess, one of the greateststruggles of my life.

(04:48):
I have really struggled, I'vereally battled.
And you're the only ones thatI've expressed this to.
So uh my husband didn't evenknow I was gonna do this, but I
have really face struggledwithin myself learning to let

(05:13):
go.
Learning to let go.
In November, uh, we had to uhdrive out to Arkansas.
My sister, there was only thetwo of us, and uh, she was
passing away.
We got there one day and shepassed the next.

(05:35):
So that was a big thing on me,and that was a grieving.
Well, she had always said shewanted my husband to preach her
funeral, and uh so that's we hadgone prepared for that.

(05:56):
She had told me when she was sosick she lost down to just 60
pounds, skin and bones.
She said, I've saved my moneyand I want a real pretty dress.
I want to look real pretty whenI die, and said, I want my hair

(06:19):
fixed.
And I told her, I said, Oh, I'llmake sure you're you're pretty.
You'll look pretty.
Well, she passed, not reallyeven looking like herself.
And on Sunday morning, fouro'clock in the morning, my

(06:40):
husband woke me up just cryingand and and hurting.
He was in such pain.
He said, pray for me, pray forme.
I'm hurting so bad.
And we didn't know what waswrong, but he couldn't move, he
couldn't, uh, he couldn't getout of the bed.

(07:03):
And finally that afternoon, Ihad an ambulance to come to get
him because we he couldn't evenset up, he couldn't walk, he
couldn't, he was in such a badcondition.
And at the uh hospital inArkansas, they told us he had an
L3 that was fractured.

(07:23):
We don't know how, but it wasfractured, and an L4 that was
bulged.
And they took all of thesetests, and they said, we really
need to put him into surgery.
And he said, No, I'm not goinginto surgery, but he couldn't

(07:48):
even walk.
We were staying at my nephew'shouse.
And so we got him back to thehouse.
For two weeks, we had to staythere.
We needed to get home.
I wanted to get home, but he wasin such a condition.

(08:13):
Well, then Wednesday was thefuneral.
And he couldn't get out of bed.
He wanted to go to that funeral.
He wanted to preach it becausethat was her desire.
Because he wasn't able.

(08:49):
And since he was unable to sayanything, I spoke a few words in
his behalf.
The lady at the funeral homecouldn't fix her hair.
She had lost so much of herhair.
She says, I just can't fix it.

(09:12):
And Shirley Lester, a friend ofours, drove over all that way.
She says, I'll fix it.
And fixed it, and she justlooked beautiful.
But as soon as the funeral wasover, I went back to my uh
nephew's house.

(09:33):
And there we were.
What are we gonna do?
We had drove our car out there.
How are we gonna get our carhome?
How are we gonna get home?
And all of this was on me andwas burdening my soul.
And so finally, a friend of oursat home had a motor home.

(09:55):
And he brought the motor home,put me and my husband in that
motor home, and drove straightthrough to Virginia.
Got us home.
And everyone was still praying.
God, you've got to give us amiracle.
You've got to touch him.
He's got to have help.

(10:18):
So finally, after we got home,well, we had even had papers
from the uh hospital in Arkansassaid, now, you take these and
and show them to the hospitalwherever you're gonna go, or the
doctor there.
And uh they sent a CD which hadthe uh the pictures and all.

(10:42):
So we took him in to uhCharlottesville and to the
doctor there.
He they took more x-rays,pictures, and compared them, and
that fracture had begun to heal.
Praise the Lord.

(11:04):
Arkansas had said, You gottahave surgery, but God was
touching him, and he said,Brother or Mister, I believe
you're gonna be alright.
Just take it easy.
And everyone has kept praying,and you saw today he's walking,

(11:26):
he's preaching, he drove uphere.
We thank God for his mightypower.
But through all of the midst ofthis, I was struggling.
When I was 16 years old, Istarted into the work of God

(11:48):
full time.
So all through the years, I'veI've worked in the church.
I've taught Sunday school, I'venursing homes, I worked 30 years
in our Christian school, and soI was always so active, always

(12:08):
busy in the work of God,visitation, which I love to do.
And all of this time I wasworking for God, and now Ben a
page turned.

(12:29):
And someone else was gonna do myvisitation.
Someone else was gonna do thedifferent things that I was
doing.
And I began to grieve.

(12:51):
And before I really realized it,I had really become depressed.
Lord, I can't just sit down.
I'm just 80 years old.
I can't just get in in therecliner and go to sleep.

(13:12):
But someone else was taking myplace and doing things.
I don't know about you.
Maybe, maybe there's someonehere today that you have you had
been in the times past thechurch's head cook.

(13:34):
And someone might have said,well, we think now we're gonna
let a younger person do that.
It's not that you weren't ascapable, but what they tell me
it's to help you out becauseyou've done your job.

(13:58):
Maybe you were a board member,and you were still just as
capable as anybody, but ayounger person has stepped in
and filled your place.

(14:19):
Don't feel like you're beingpushed out, don't feel like that
your life has come to an end.
But that's the way I wasfeeling.
For over 25 years, I've gone tothe same nursing home the first

(14:40):
Sunday of every month and holdservice.
I still do that.
But I would always, those thatwould go with me, I would cook
their dinner for them.
And I've I'd always done that.
Well now the group still goeswith me, but they say, now you

(15:04):
sit down and we'll do thecooking.
How do you sit down?
Can I just clean the tables?
But they say, let us youngerones do it now.

(15:27):
You've done your job.
So today, if any of you here,you older people or senior
citizens, have felt in yourheart, I'm being pushed back.
I'm not being used.

(15:50):
It's not that you're not loved,you are loved.
And you're very important.
Yes.
Last year I used this verse, butthis year it has become more
alive to me even than last year.

(16:11):
In Psalms 71 and 18.
Now, also when I am old andgray-headed, oh God, forsake me
not until I have strengthenedthe key, until I have showed thy

(16:36):
strength.
I've showed thy strength untothis generation, and thy power
to everyone that is to come.
Praise God.

(16:57):
The key to that scripture, thestrength and the power to this
generation.
Senior citizens, you have a bigjob.
We have a big job on our hands.

(17:17):
Because we may not be washingthe dishes, we may not be doing
the cooking out there in thekitchen, we may not be doing
some of the things that we'vebeen used to doing.
But we have a big job becausewe're to show the power and the
strength of God to thisgeneration here.

(17:44):
Oh, I'm sure even the youngestof these that are here today
know about when God was takingthe children of Israel out of
Egypt bondage, how the blood hadto be applied to the doorpost,
and and and those that didn'thave the blood applied, what

(18:06):
happened?
The firstborn died.
But God's people were spared,and and God began to deliver
them as they began to leaveEgypt bondage, and then they
came to hurdle, didn't they?
The Red Sea.

(18:26):
And old Pharaoh, they found outhad changed his mind and he was
on his way after them.
But what happened?
God showed his strength and hispower, and he parted the Red
Sea, and God's people walkedacross on dry ground.

(18:47):
They were safe.
So God told Moses, tell thepeople to tell their children
and their children and theirchildren on through the
generations, the strength andthe power of God.
That's what we've got to do.
We've got to let these youngerones know that God is real and

(19:11):
that God is powerful and thatGod is still on our side.
Hallelujah! When they crossedthat Red Sea, Miriam got that
tambourine and began to play,and they but the women begin to
rejoice and they began to sing.

(19:32):
Oh, how God had protected themand brought them across the Red
Sea, and how Pharaoh and hisarmy were destroyed.
They were killed.
And that's what we've got to do.
Do you know?
And this is a shame, but there'smany places they have

(19:54):
Pentecostal written on thechurch, but they don't know what
holiness is.
Young people, holiness is real.
It's real.
Hallelujah.
And grandmas and grandpas andmoms and dads, we've got to keep
it alive.

(20:14):
We've got to keep telling themand showing them and being the
example to them.
And the Holy Ghost is real.
Speaking in other tongues isreal.
And it's for this generation.
Yes, God is moving.

(20:39):
There's many times and manychanges in our lives.
But we have to lean on God andhold on to his promises and his
word.
Jesus Christ the same yesterday,today, and forever.

(21:06):
He is still alive.
He is still powerful.
He is still a miracle worker.
And we have got to not just tellthis generation, but we've got
to show them.
We've got to be the example.
Not only the deacon's wife, notonly the pastor's wife, but all

(21:34):
of us.
We must be that example for theLord Jesus Christ.
God bless you.