My first day on staff at Houston's First Baptist Church was Marge Caldwell's last day on Earth.There is something poetic in that for me.
As a freshman at Baylor University, I was introduced to Marge when she spoke during Welcome Week as the keynote speaker for the "Social" general session.
(For those not familiar with Welcome Week, it was based on the concept of the whole person with the theme verse of Luke 2:42 -- "Jesus grew in wisdom (intellectual) and stature (physical), and in favor with God (spiritual) and men (social).")
For the next three years, I always looked forward to Marge returning to Waco to tell us about her love for Chuck, how they met, and the importance of relationships in our lives. That an elderly woman could have 2,500+ freshmen wrapped around her little finger simply amazed me.
My senior year, I served on the Welcome Week Steering Committee and had the privilege of taking Marge and Chuck to dinner before her general session. What an amazing couple! My parents were there and they still remember that dinner -- the one and only time my folks ever met the Caldwells.
Marge's joy and love for Christ encouraged me each time I heard her speak during my years at Baylor, and again each time I heard her speak during my years here at HFBC. Since I was always skeptical of large churches -- and even the Baptist denomination -- I was reluctant to ever come to HFBC. The fact that someone like Marge Caldwell called this place home made it more inviting to me. Something must be real at HFBC, I thought, if someone like her could call it home.
As I type this, Mercy Me's hit song "I Can Only Imagine" is on the radio. What is Marge doing right now? Dancing? Being still? Standing? Falling? Singing? Silent?
I can only imagine ... but if I were a betting man, my money would be on dancing ... and laughing!
2 comments:
How precious to share such a sweet story about the Caldwells. She was such a neat lady and her legacy will continue through the lives of the people she knew and touched in the name of Jesus. I too can only imagine but praise His Name that one day I will no longer imagine but it will be a reality!
Marge was an incredible woman . . . I was always amazed to see her wearing heels at 92 years old . . . and smiling away all the while! She reminded me so much of my own grandmother and just beamed the love of Jesus! I know she is going to be missed here, but the party in heaven just got a whole lot of laughter and joy added to it!
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