You need to come right away; something is wrong with Nancy,” a young Ed Blackwood heard over the phone, less than a month before his wedding day. Immediately Ed drove to the hospital to hear the news that Nancy had a brain tumor that needed to be operated on posthaste. Nancy was not afraid. God had given her Isaiah 26:3, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you,” and she went into the operating room thankful that her constant headaches and nausea would be gone before her wedding day.

From a Small God to a Bigger God

Nancy Blackwood had not always known the perfect peace of God. Growing up in a Wesleyan home, Nancy was taught that life includes chance, and that she needed to choose God and continue in salvation, praying for the Lord to come into her heart over and over again. At seven she went to the altar to become a Christian, but lived with the uncertainty that if she was not good enough, she could lose her salvation.

When she was dating Ed, he was very convincing in showing her what he believed from Scripture. Nancy said, “I saw that I had limited God. Learning about His sovereignty, that He chose a certain covenant people who He promised to preserve, made God go from a smaller God to a bigger God.”

The Gift of Marriage

God’s gift of providence is crystal clear in His story of Ed and Nancy meeting. In the summer during college, Nancy was dating a boy named Scott, and her friend from work was dating Ed. They went on a double date together, but Ed thought Nancy was stuck-up, and she thought he was weird. Eventually Nancy broke up with Scott because he bore no fruit to match his profession of faith. A year later, Nancy was in a singing group with one of Ed’s friends, and she told this friend to tell Ed to pray for Scott. Ed thought this was a pickup line and started calling Nancy’s house to ask her out.

Nancy was dating a wealthy Wesleyan guy with a Corvette, so she had no interest in Ed. He was persistent and kept calling her house, so eventually she went on some dates with him. When her boyfriend had his birthday, Nancy found a funny and adorable toy that walked around sticking out its tongue, ears, and nose, and she thought he would get a kick out of it. All he said was, “Oh, thanks.” That made Nancy mad, and she thought, “Ed would love this gift.” That solved it for her, and this year Ed and Nancy will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary!

Tumor, Tumor, Tumor; God is Faithful

A few days after her first tumor surgery, Nancy and Ed got married sitting on a beautiful wicker patio bench, bedecked for the winter holidays. Nancy recovered well from her surgery and had no physical side effects. The couple moved to Evansville, Ind., to church plant, and soon started to have a quiver full of children. Ten years later, with five children under seven, and six months pregnant with number six, Nancy received the news that she had another tumor. Nancy struggled with fear of dying, and was afraid of what would happen to her unborn child. God gave her Isaiah 41:10 for this trial: “Do not fear, do not be dismayed. I will hold you with my righteous right hand.” Her doctor decided to operate on her while pregnant, yet there were more doctors in the operating room looking after the baby than over her tumor. The surgery was successful, and the baby was able to continue healthily in her womb until he was delivered five weeks early.

“It is an aggressive tumor,” said Nancy’s doctor three years later after an extensive eight-hour test in Cincinnati (with 10 doctors attending) to decide if what they saw was scar tissue or more tumor. This time, God gave Nancy the verse, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). The surgery required taking part of her cerebellum. Afterward, Nancy lost her sense of balance and any feeling on the left side of her face, which particularly affects her eyes and half her mouth. Her balance was so bad initially that even when sitting in a car someone had to hold her up or she would just fall down. The seriousness of the surgery required three weeks of full-time physical rehab, a time of trial and hardship for Nancy. Her children came to visit her and were shocked because they could barely recognize her, except for the youngest who right away crawled on the bed to give her a big hug.

Living Life Together

God graciously provided a number of young helpers that came to live in their house and help Nancy full-time with the children. Three of these young ladies stayed over nine months each, and in between there were other helpers. Nancy said, “They were like sisters to me. I just love those girls.” One young lady, Dana Soma, spent her day off with an older lady in the Evansville church. They got so close that Betty said, “I am not getting close to any more of your helpers; it hurts too much when they leave.” Believers living life together as the flock of Christ in tangible ways leaves behind a fragrance of the beauty and love of Christ.

Eternity in the Heart

The possibility of death was a reality for Nancy through her tumor battles, and yet what God worked into her heart was not a fear of death but the tender strength of eternity in her heart. Because of her physical limitations, Nancy daily thinks of and longs for heaven. Yet, she is cognizant that her desire for heaven is not only for physical perfection, but for that deeper satisfaction of being with her Lord.

Nancy was touched by something Joni Eareckson Tada said on physical suffering: “I ask the Lord to take away the pain, sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn’t, but he always comes near.” Nancy commented that it was “so beautiful. She was so full of the Spirit that it just oozes out of her.” My immediate thought was that this was such a fitting way to describe the encouragement I have received in my friendship with Nancy, that she is an ornately carved pillar, an oak of righteousness, a contender in the faith who oozes with the love of God and the fruit of the Holy Spirit. May God test, carve, and refine me so that I too may one day shine as brightly with His glory and tender mercies.

Ed and Nancy Blackwood recently moved to pastor Springs (Colorado Springs, Colo.) RPC. They have an abundance of wisdom to share with our family of churches, and we would all do well to listen. For the sake of this article, I could only highlight one aspect of Nancy’s journey heavenward, but God has worked many lessons into her life. She could help any number of readers with miscarriage loss, marital tension when moving far from family, doubts about losing salvation, living with physical disabilities, and encouragement in Christ when despair or anxiety threaten. Reach out; there are wise, strong, beautiful, older women who are ready to share the treasures of Christ with you.

The Oaks of Righteousness column is run by Evelyn Kruis and Tori Mann. There is an accompanying podcast that shares more stories of older women in the faith, produced by Johnathan Kruis. We welcome suggestions of women to highlight, but we also eagerly invite others to contact us about writing their own articles for this column about women who have been an example of faith to them. You can contact me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). (In previous articles my email was spelled incorrectly, so please resend if I never got back to you.)