Joy in Heaven

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When someone tells me that she reads Daily Encouragement,  I feel great joy and humble gratitude. It means much that women give precious time listening to my heart. One of the sweetest of these moments came when I learned that my friend Joy Brown age 100 was one of those readers. To my knowledge, Miss Joy is the first reader who has gone home to be with her Blessed Redeemer. Those of you who have been reading Daily Encouragement for some time have heard stories about Miss Joy before.

Miss Joy was able to fulfill her dream of remaining in her home. She died on Saturday in the same room where her husband died in 1951. Granted, she had had twenty-four hour caregivers for the last couple of years, but she was able to recite The Ragged Old Flag at the local Veterans Day celebration this past November.

Clara Wesley and Miss Joy 091

A few weeks later, she wowed a room full of well-wishers when she recited poetry from memory and tap danced at her 100th birthday party.

Miss Joy and Mike
Miss Joy and Her Son Mike at Her 100th Birthday Party — That’s not a movie star at right. It’s a younger photo of Miss Joy.
Just look at this beautiful 99 year old at her 99th birthday party the year before!
Just look at this beautiful 99 year old at her 99th birthday party the year before!
Son Tommy tells stories about his mom at her 96th birthday party.
Son Tommy tells stories about his mom at her 97th birthday party.
Singing and Playing the Keyboard at Her 95th Birthday Party
Singing and Playing the Keyboard at Her 96th Birthday Party
Mom and Sons Together at Her 96th Birthday Party
Mom and Sons Together at Her 96th Birthday Party

Miss Joy lived almost ninety years of her life in the same white gingerbread house with its wrap-around front porch here in little Gainesboro, Tennessee. She moved into her home with her family when she was three years old. She moved away when she married, but when her husband realized that his heart condition would likely take his life, he made preparations by moving with his wife and their two young sons into her parents’ home. There she reared her boys and there she remained a widow for sixty-four years. Miss Joy supported her boys by working first as a hairdresser and later in a doctor’s office..

Like their mother, both boys were musical; both have had long successful careers. Mike became a minister and Tommy works in the Hollywood entertainment business.

Neither Mike nor Tommy would tell you that it was easy for them for their mother to stay at home the last couple of years, but they made it work because that was where she wanted to be. In addition to hiring and overseeing caregivers, they continued their longtime tradition of Mike calling his mom on his way to work in the morning, and Tommy on his way home in the afternoon. The last three or four weeks have been particularly difficult. Mike came from Texas twice and then last week Tommy came from California. Knowing how much it meant to his mother to have both her boys with her at the same time, Mike decided to make his third trip from Texas to Tennessee in a month while Tommy was here. Miss Joy began to decline even more, but she remained lucid until Friday and then she died on Saturday with both of her boys and with one of Mike’s children with her — just exactly how she would want it to be.

Miss Joy was a Christian woman who spread the meaning of her name to her family, to her friends, to our church, and to our community. Hers was a life lived fully and well. Into her nineties, she was participating in every Veterans Day celebration and dressing in costume to tell the story of her grandmother at events held by the Historic Society, usually from her own front porch.

PollyWilliams

Miss Joy portrays her colorful ancestor "Aunt Polly" Williams.
Miss Joy portrays her colorful ancestor “Aunt Polly” Williams who ran a hotel on the Gainesboro town square.

Until she became confined to her home, Miss Joy was in church “every time the doors were open” — including the Wednesday morning ladies class which I teach, where I well knew that I should be sitting down and she should be teaching!

Our church was thinking about Miss Joy and talking about Miss Joy yesterday morning. How we will miss her. How I will miss her. As I sat in the pew, a verse came to mind. In Luke 15, Jesus told the parable about the lost sheep. He concluded by talking about the owner of the sheep rejoicing and calling his friends and neighbors together so they could rejoice with him. Then Jesus said:

I tell you that in the same way,
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
Luke 15:7

Miss Joy’s relationship with God was precious to her. She had once been a sinner in need of repentance but she had come to Jesus and caused “joy in heaven.”

Joy in heaven. Now those words have double meaning for me. Once she caused joy in heaven and now she is Joy in heaven.

If you would like to read more about my friend Miss Joy, here are some links to past articles about this godly woman:

Miss Joy

Honor to Whom Honor — With Joy

100 and Counting

 

 

 

 

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8 Comments

  1. Charlene, it is wonderful and humbling to read your tribute. I marvel at your sweet spirit and also your talent and hard work putting all this together. Amazing that you do this kind of thing every day! May God continue to bless you and your family’s work that spreads the message of Jesus in such wonderful ways.

    Shelley

  2. Charlene,
    I’m so sorry for your loss. This has brought tears to my eyes as I have come to love Miss Joy, even though I never met her. My God comfort all those touched with grief at her home going. She is able to play and sing perfectly at home now. 😉

  3. Saddened to hear about Mrs. Joy’s passing. I loved your stories about her and felt like I knew her. One of these days, I will. 🙂

    God’s comfort to her family and dear friends. It’s amazing how much we come to love dear Christian friends and grieve like they are family members.

    • Thank you, Rebecca. She has a big family coming to the funeral on Saturday — maybe even her 94-year-old first cousin from about five hours away in Memphis.

  4. This beautiful tribute brought tears to my eyes. Joy’s was truly a life well-lived. I am Shelley’s brother, Mike’s brother-in-law who first met Miss Joy and her sister in the late 1950’s while selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door one summer as a high school student. Although, I didn’t meet him at the time, Mike was listening while doing his homework in the next room. I still hold the idyllic image of Joy’s home with its picket fence in my mind, and fondly remember the charms of Jackson County during my visits over the next few years. After living in Florida for almost 50 years, and Miami for 33 years, I appreciate more than ever to advantages of living among the good people in small communities like those in Tennessee.

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