A Tribute To My Mentor And Friend

Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” Revelation 14:13

I had some bad news early one morning recently. If you’ve ever lost a good friend suddenly, you know the pain.

Carolyn Sue Claxton was not only my mentor in the jail ministry, she was a dear friend. She treated me like an equal, a partner. And partners we were. When she found out I was born the same year as her son, she laughed and said, “I think of you as an adult, but I think of him as a kid.” And she loved her kids and grandkids tremendously. She also had one great-granddaughter, the apple of her eye, who has become good friends with my son.

In fact, three days before she died, Sue and I had taken Charles and Mia to a pumpkin patch in the Whitlock community. Sue had lived in that area years before, and as we drove around, she reminisced about who had lived here and there. She told about one snowy night when she had to go in to work at the hospital and she spun on the ice and was sure she was going to slide down a steep embankment which she pointed out to me. But God protected her.

I feel like God was protecting and blessing her these last few weeks of her life. We had talked in the past about how problematic it would be if anything happened to her while her great-granddaughter was there with her alone. Mia was not there when Sue passed, and thankfully one of her daughters was. This too was a provision from God.

Just a little over a week before her passing, she had returned from a solo trip all the way to Wisconsin for a granddaughter’s wedding. She had been able to see much of her family and friends who live so far away.

I’m immensely thankful for that last day together with the kids at the pumpkin patch. But I’m kicking myself for not getting a picture of Sue and me together. In fact, I don’t think such a picture exists. The kids were always the stars.

But of course what I’ll always remember most about Sue was her passion for the jail ministry. She had a passion for nursing even before that, and her nurse’s manner served her well in the ministry. I learned so much from watching her interact with the ladies there. She truly loved them and wanted the best for them and believed that anyone could turn their life around if they would let God help them.

Sue was a great example of a caring active Christian. She would often give people food, take people to appointments, give transportation to inmates just released, etc. She was no fool, but she tried to give people the benefit of the doubt. Her energy and commitment to serving amazed me, and I will always draw inspiration from the picture in my mind of her hobbling around to help others. Many in her situation would have said, “I’ve done my share. Let others take over.” Not Sue.

Everyone in our church had great respect for her, but like everyone, Sue had her insecurities. She sometimes felt like she didn’t fit in, though it never for a moment appeared that way to me. If I could share one lesson from her life besides her tireless service to others, perhaps it would be that it’s never wasted effort to reassure people that you love them.

I’m grateful that, during the years we spent working together, we became more than ministry partners. We became friends who spent time together, communicated frequently about all kinds of things, and often expressed our appreciation for one another. I have no doubt that she loved me, and I believe she knew that I loved her. It was the way Christian ministry ought to work.

Sue’s passing marks the end of an era, but not the end of the work. Each generation always has to pass the baton to the next. It’s the way Christian ministry has to work.

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. Psalm 116:15

Thank you, Lord, for my wonderful friend, Sue. I thank you for the good work You accomplished through her and for the example she has been to me and so many others. I thank you that she did not have to linger in pain, and I’m thankful for the comfort of knowing I will see her again. Please continue to use her life to motivate the rest of us to be selfless and servant-minded, following her example as she followed the example of Jesus. Thank you most of all for giving us purpose and hope through Him. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

by Christie Cole Atkins