Last evening I attended the Memorial Service for virtuous woman I’ve known since 1977.  Mrs Carolyn Cox Rand, wife of Nathaniel Rand, who preceded his wife in passing a couple of years ago.

I met this couple when I had the unction to come up to the then sleepy little town of Richlands to a church led by Pastor Kelley Varner.  He was a big man with a big voice and wisdom well beyond his 29 years of age.  Nat and Carolyn with all their children, Walter, Ripley, Daniel, Marlise and Mary all attended this church as founding members along with Jessie Futrell (sic) and his wife Linda.  There were others, but these two took me in as much as family.

The words spoken of Carolyn last night were all true.  She was a dedicated, hard working, God loving woman.  She was like the straight man in a comedy team in a way.  Nat was the loud one, and I say that is a good way.  If he were to walk out on his front porch in the early morning he could and likely would yell out a hallelujah loud enough to be heard all the way out to Arnold’s Restaurant three blocks away.  I can’t say that I’ve ever heard Carolyn tell him to tone it down any.  She was quiet and subdued.  Now, for all I know her children could probably tell a slightly different story, but I’ll leave that to them.

You could tell she was well liked.  Kingdom Life , formally known as Praise Tabernacle, was completely packed out with probably close to 200 people.  It was very much like a family reunion.

I saw people there I haven’t seen in years.  Some of them now with gray hair and retired, some that were young children, now at least six feet tall and in college and everybody in between.  To me, it was good that we all came together in spite of the past circumstances that drove some of us apart.  Perhaps this meeting not only was to celebrate the life of a Godly woman, but also a time to heal wounds of the past among a people who have a common thread with this woman.  We all loved her.