Miss Fannie

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:5 NIV)Miss Fannie loved God and it showed. She played the piano and taught Sunday school at the Methodist church where I grew up. To earn a living, Miss Fannie ran a boarding house for schoolteachers in the little community.

She never married, but there didn't seem to be anything missing in her life. In Miss Fannie's living room over her couch was a large picture of Jesus Christ praying in the garden. Scattered around the house were needlepoint and embroidered pillows and pictures of bible verses created by Miss Fannie. In the dining room was a crewel-embroidered picture of the last supper with the wording "Jesus is head of this table." Somehow, you knew He was. You knew Jesus lived in this house. One could feel his presence. As you entered her garden and heard the trickle of water falling from the fountain into the gold fishpond, with its dark green ferns, you could feel His presence.

I was just a teenager when I visited her home. I was one of her Sunday school students in need of prayer. She welcomed me with loving arms. We sat in the swing on her screened porch amid her collection of potted ferns and talked about my problems. Under her calm and prayerful guidance, my problems melted away.

Many times during the years that followed, I've wondered: Can people tell if Jesus lives at my house? I don't have His picture displayed as artwork on my walls. I haven't crafted needlework beauty that proclaims His greatness. I love to write about Jesus. I like to talk about Him with people that I know are Christians. I do not mention His name to those I'm not sure about.

Miss Fannie lived a simple life, cooking and cleaning for her boarders during the week and serving the Lord on Sundays. No one who knew her doubted she had a good life. With all the extras in my life, I often wonder: Can others see that Jesus lives at my house?

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Contributed by Ivie Bozeman
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