Elsie Banks Loved to Laugh

          We are in the midst of a Lenten sermon series on the Fruit of the Spirit.  This Sunday we are talking about goodness.  I was thinking about the best way to define goodness, and I thought about Elsie Banks.  Elsie personified the meaning of goodness.   But last Sunday we talked about kindness.  Kindness defined Elsie’s life.   And there was love, and joy, peace, patience . ..

        In Elsie’s life the Fruit of the Spirit were not only present, but active, vibrant, transparent and contagious.  

        Elsie died at her home Tuesday night after an extended illness.  Her funeral service was Saturday at First Baptist Church where she was an active and faithful member for the majority of her life. 

        There are nine “fruits” of the Spirit.   While Elsie displayed all nine in her life, perhaps the one that stood out above all the rest was “faithfulness.”  

        Elsie did not have an easy life.  She was raised at the Junior Order Home, and while that was a difficult journey in many ways, Elsie would quickly point out all of the positives, the love, the support, the life-lessons, the encouragement that we received there.  

        She experienced a great deal of loss in her life, her parents, her husband, her brothers, but most painfully, her son.  For many years she battled a serious and life-threatening illness.  But through it all, while some would have become bitter, callous, and angry with God—Elsie was faithful. 

        In good times and bad, Elsie was faithful.  In times of sickness and distress, Elsie was faithful.  Through heartache and loss, Elsie was faithful. 

        She loved First Baptist Church.   It was her extended family.   And it was rare that an event was taking place at our church without Elsie.  Whenever the church bus or one of our charter buses pulled out of the church parking lot on a trip, Elsie would be on board.  We had some great times traveling together and Elsie was always at the center of the action, her joy and enthusiasm were contagious.  Everyone loved to be with Elise. 

        Elsie’s joy was communicated through the sparkle in her eyes and her loveable laughter.  All I had to do was mention a memorable experience from one of our trips, like the banana pudding we had at Natural Bridge, Virginia that didn’t have any bananas, or the trip to West Virginia when it rained the entire time and we had chicken for every meal, or the continental breakfast we had in Williamsburg at which everyone was rationed two mini-muffins, or my 50^th birthday Cruise when we hit the Nor’easter coming back up the East Coast and everybody in the group was too sick to eat the cake, or the time we celebrated Martha Kinney’s birthday in Savannah and everybody on the bus was laughing, but no one can remember the reason why—and Elsie’s eyes would sparkle and she would laugh.  

        In the 31^st chapter of Proverbs, the wisdom writer is describing a virtuous woman and he writes:  Strength and dignity are her clothing and she laughs at the time to come.  To be able to laugh in times of distress, sadness, pain, and suffering, is the visible sign of faithfulness.  The writer goes on to say:

She speaks wisely.
She teaches faithfully.
She watches over family matters.
She is busy all the time.
Her children rise up and call her blessed.
Her husband also, and he praises her.
He says, "Many women do noble things.
But you are better than all the others."

The passage concludes by saying:  Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.