Message from Mary Hendricks, Central Elementary Teacher

A Symbol of Faithfulness

“Jesus is FAITHFUL. We can depend on Him. Every aspect of God’s plan in history finds its completion in Him. All God’s promises are fulfilled in Him. Jesus says. . . Come to me for the strength to endure to the end. Lean on me. No matter what the trial, I will be with you through it all . . .”
At the Name of Jesus by Sarah Hornsby

In every situation in our lives we need to remember that Jesus is our faithful Heavenly Father. My first personal experience with faith began as a young child when my grandmother taught me that I could depend on God to listen to my prayers and to answer them. I gave my heart to the Lord at ten years old and began my personal journey of faith. My first faith challenge came as a freshman at Greenville College. I was asking the Lord to lead me to a Christian man who had committed his whole heart and life to the Lord. I was surprised when God answered my prayer, even though I never doubted Him. I met Jay Hendricks at the end of my freshman year and we were married a year and three months later in 1973.

Compared to the wedding standards of today we had an inexpensive and simple church wedding. I never dreamed of the steps of faith we would be taking together in the years to come, or of the miraculous power of God’s faithfulness in our lives. We had borrowed a simple cake topper of wedding bells that Jay’s parents had used on their cake twenty-three years before our wedding. The bells have become a symbol of love and faithfulness in our family as we watched Jay’s parents work through sixty years of marriage.

God’s constant answers to prayer and His guidance in our lives has once again been revealed to me this summer when our son Will asked if he could use the cake topper for his wedding cake. We found the bells with the gold flowers and leaves left from Grandma and Grandpa’s 50th wedding party. On September 11, 2010 Will and Anne used the bells that represented a new beginning in their lives together, just as Jay and I had thirty seven years before. The September 11, 2010 wedding in Ohio brought family and friends together with much rejoicing over God’s faithfulness for both the bride’s and the groom’s families.

Two weeks ago our son Brian proposed to a marvelous young lady named Jamie Haas. They have already told us that the wedding cake topper is going to be used on June 11, 2011. The gold leaves and flowers may change to new colors and a more retro look this time. That will not change the faithfulness that God has shown to our family as he has blessed us with wonderful sons and “daughters.”

Jay and I praise the Lord for the place that Phoenix Christian has had in our lives for many years. Phoenix Christian is our extended family. We believe that God’s faithfulness will continue to keep Phoenix Christian strong and growing, so more young men and women will serve the Lord all over the world, for many years to come.

Psalm 145:13 “Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.
The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.”