The Right Word at the Right Time

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At the funeral home, we were receiving condolences from family and friends after the sudden death of my mother. Alan*, a friend from high school days, rushed toward me. Grief was written on his face.

“Randall,” he stammered, “you heard about my wife’s death six weeks ago? When I was here preparing for her funeral, it hurt so bad I promised myself I’d never set foot in this place again. But when I heard Miss Edith had died, I knew I had to come.”

Miss Edith was my mother. Decades earlier, she had also been our high school English teacher. We found a quiet corner where he could tell me how she had ministered to him after his wife’s recent death. Words spilled out quickly as he relived that deep loss. A short time after her accidental death, Alan had reached his lowest point and planned his suicide. Then he got a letter from my mother. In her words, he found hope and strength to live.

Soon after time began, written words had become a major tool for giving people hope and guidance. Think about it. God instructed Moses to write the Ten Commandments on stone (Exodus 20:1-17).

Alan’s story was our family’s first clue to discovering how much Mom had touched the lives of others. Among the friends, family, and former students who came to pay their respects, others shared their stories about her heartfelt notes.

The right word at the right time is, according to Proverbs 25:11, “like apples of gold in settings of silver” (NASB). We knew Mom had a passion for poetry and an awe for the power of a stirring essay. Evidently, she also had a gift for using the right word in a timely manner.

In the New Testament, Luke cited the critical role of the right word to spread the gospel: “Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write an accurate account for you, most honorable Theophilus, so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught” (Luke 1:3-4).

Discovering the Pattern

At the end of our emotional evening at the funeral home, Dad, his children, and grandchildren were walking to our cars when we were startled by a young woman dashing toward us in the parking lot. It was Emma*, another former student.

“Oh, I’m so glad I caught you!” she exclaimed. “I learned just minutes ago of Miss Edith’s death, and I had to find you! Emma was going through a divorce, and the stress had been almost unbearable. Mom knew something of her troubled journey. So, guess what. Yes, on one of her hardest days, Emma had received a note of love and encouragement from Mom.

We marveled at our discovery of this pattern in Mom’s personal ministry.

Her years of studying the Bible and the classics of literature had given her wisdom and insights greater than most could imagine. She spoke her words carefully and wrote them lovingly. No matter where she was – English classroom, kitchen, beauty shop, teaching Sunday school, or writing an encouraging note, her calm voice always conveyed love and respect and hope.

Her own writing style was both simple and profound. She enjoyed composing poetry, often short rhymes reflecting her own relationship to the Lord. For example:

God’s Constancy

When my spirit hits rock bottom

And there’s nowhere to go but up,

God gently nudges my conscience

And says, “Come, child. Let me fill your cup.”

Mom’s Last Right Word

Of course, Mom’s sudden death had left us in shock. Understandably, we had forgotten any other big dates on the family calendar.

However, in the mailbox the next morning, my sister and her husband received an envelope addressed in Mom’s perfect cursive penmanship. It was a card to honor their wedding anniversary. How fitting that her last right word would be to her only daughter, written and dropped off at the post office only hours before her fatal heart attack.

Clearly, God used this quiet, gentle lady to pen words of hope, celebration, love, and encouragement to countless people. Now, forty years after her death, I dig through closets and boxes to find and read again some of her right words to me.

Her legacy challenges me to follow her example. I’ll never be as wise or as loving as she was. But when I try to follow in her footsteps, it is a joy to search for just the right word at the right time to encourage a fellow traveler.

*Names have been changed for privacy

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