Louis The Determined
Louis died this morning.
I was teaching a Bible class about Hannah’s prayers in I Samuel 1 and 2 when the event occurred. Thankfully, nobody flashed me any signal because I was able to hold back the tears as long as I stayed focus on the topic. Mom had notified me his organs were shutting down so his demise was eminent.
Louis never rocked a stadium with a half-million people. I know of no time when he saved anyone’s life. He’s never been credited with creating a cure for disease or being a political mastermind. But Louis takes his place in the annals of history by standing toe-to-toe with the greatest foe of all time – and winning.
Our world is all too full of those who build on the sand only to give up and be washed away when the storms come. Louis chuckled and shook his head at that mentality. Born poor and raised rural, his very life instilled in him the quality I’m writing about. He taught me about patience in marriage most of all, but that’s not why I honor him here. He taught his grandsons the importance of family, but that’s another story. He taught his daughter to honor her mother and that’s more than most, but it’s not our theme today.
Frankly, Louis was the most determined man I ever knew.
I started realizing this in a fun way. When he came into my life 30 years ago, I only saw him as a funny, easy-going guy whose daughter married my brother. After he moved to the area, though, to be around his grandkids, I began to notice more. An area farmer started a 42 tournament. Louis picked an old friend as a partner and they won the tournament complete with a trophy sporting a domino. Louis did not like to lose. Over the next 10 years I had the pleasure of playing dozens of 42 matches with him and I’d see this wonderful, kind-hearted grandfather turn into a driven machine to get that seventh mark before his opponent did; if he lost, he was gracious about it on the outside, but I could tell it tore him up. When we had other tournaments, Louis would get so nervous about matches he would have trouble eating and afterwards, he could tell me details about the tricks for days. Get this point – Louis was determined to not lose.
After I learned from dominoes that there was a fierce competitor under his soft demeanor, I started looking for it in other areas of his life. He told me about a man years ago at church who caught him on the curb after services and accused him in front of witnesses of messing with his wife. Louis never raised a hand or his voice against the man determined to avoid a scene where lots of teenagers were around. It soon became known the other man was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s.
When I found a pretty little girl I wanted to marry, Louis told me about his own marriage and gave me one of my most treasured pieces of advice before matrimony: “Be sure you marry someone you will still love if they become bed-bound.” His first wife had spent years in bed with various ailments while he and his daughter took care of her. Then she reached a point where she was able to move around for some time before becoming diabetic, going blind, and becoming bed-bound again for the last years while he took care of her by himself. Sure, he could have run off and left her, but Louis didn’t build on sand like so many idiots. He meant what he vowed. Louis was determined.
Sadly, Louis watched his relatives and friends fall apart and away over the years. Many left the church, left their marriage, left their sanity, and left out all communication with the man who had been their anchor since childhood. Still, the lighthouse kept the beacon going, kept his Bible read and Bible class lessons done, kept up the example of a faithful Christian, kept opening the house to any who needed encouraging, determined to help any who would just reach out. His daughter, one of my favorite people, became torn apart from depression and could not face crowds so she turned into a hermit of sorts. Sometimes Louis would travel to visit and she would stay in her room unable to come out to chat, but Mr. Determined still went hoping that his prayers would be answered – that she could whip the depression and he would be one of the ones to help her and then be there to embrace her.
But Satan wasn’t finished trying to beat him down. In 2001, Louis went with four other older men to meet with the elders at church. They asked the elders to consider the current status of the congregation; an erroneous point had been preached about fellowship, and many of the saints were upset. The men asked the elders to take a stand and correct the error publicly. One of the elders immediately agreed, but the other two did not. The hideous gossip that followed from half of the congregation about these five men was bad enough to make Louis cry, but still he did not back down from what the Bible taught. When his determination for truth would not be heeded by the two, he took his wife to a different church where the men did indeed listen to the truth leaving behind 50 years of attendance. Some folks would say they had been there too long to look for something new, but Louis wasn’t looking for something new – he was determined to find the truth and if that meant throwing his support in with a fledgling group that stood for truth, then he was determined to help them succeed.
More consequences followed. Louis’ first grandson was in college at the time and did not see the big picture as Louis did. When Louis joined a different congregation, this grandson abandoned him and went to live with others saying he could not see his grandparents or family anymore because they had left. Louis never gave up hope that this grandson would come back. He kept the doors of communication open determined to be available when the light came on; it did just in time. The grandson moved back home and came to see Louis right before the death.
Satan was not alone in being unable to get to Louis. Even cancer had to take multiple shots before finally nailing him. Earlier this year he was diagnosed with aggressive cancer in his liver, spinal cord, and lungs. It was only a matter of time. Already a diabetic, Louis took on the chemo and cleaned his body out shocking all the doctors by getting a clean bill of health. It was just borrowed time, though, and the doctors made that clear to him. When it came back, they said, and it always did, they said, it would come with a vengeance. Thankfully, his fall was relatively fast and now he is free from all pain.
Which of these obstacles would have caused me to give up? Caring for a bed-bound wife for years, or having elders refuse to listen to scriptures I am showing them in the Bible? Becoming a diabetic, or having my daughter not talk to me when I went to see her? Losing my first wife to death, or having my grandson refuse to see me because of mistakes he is making?
Louis stood toe-to-toe with Satan, disease, family disintegration, marital woes, and gossip, but with his determination he whipped ‘em all. Jesus says in Matthew 7:14 that the gate to Heaven is narrow and few there be that find it. From all evidence I can see, Louis was one of those determined few. I want to go where he went.
I was teaching a Bible class about Hannah’s prayers in I Samuel 1 and 2 when the event occurred. Thankfully, nobody flashed me any signal because I was able to hold back the tears as long as I stayed focus on the topic. Mom had notified me his organs were shutting down so his demise was eminent.
Louis never rocked a stadium with a half-million people. I know of no time when he saved anyone’s life. He’s never been credited with creating a cure for disease or being a political mastermind. But Louis takes his place in the annals of history by standing toe-to-toe with the greatest foe of all time – and winning.
Our world is all too full of those who build on the sand only to give up and be washed away when the storms come. Louis chuckled and shook his head at that mentality. Born poor and raised rural, his very life instilled in him the quality I’m writing about. He taught me about patience in marriage most of all, but that’s not why I honor him here. He taught his grandsons the importance of family, but that’s another story. He taught his daughter to honor her mother and that’s more than most, but it’s not our theme today.
Frankly, Louis was the most determined man I ever knew.
I started realizing this in a fun way. When he came into my life 30 years ago, I only saw him as a funny, easy-going guy whose daughter married my brother. After he moved to the area, though, to be around his grandkids, I began to notice more. An area farmer started a 42 tournament. Louis picked an old friend as a partner and they won the tournament complete with a trophy sporting a domino. Louis did not like to lose. Over the next 10 years I had the pleasure of playing dozens of 42 matches with him and I’d see this wonderful, kind-hearted grandfather turn into a driven machine to get that seventh mark before his opponent did; if he lost, he was gracious about it on the outside, but I could tell it tore him up. When we had other tournaments, Louis would get so nervous about matches he would have trouble eating and afterwards, he could tell me details about the tricks for days. Get this point – Louis was determined to not lose.
After I learned from dominoes that there was a fierce competitor under his soft demeanor, I started looking for it in other areas of his life. He told me about a man years ago at church who caught him on the curb after services and accused him in front of witnesses of messing with his wife. Louis never raised a hand or his voice against the man determined to avoid a scene where lots of teenagers were around. It soon became known the other man was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s.
When I found a pretty little girl I wanted to marry, Louis told me about his own marriage and gave me one of my most treasured pieces of advice before matrimony: “Be sure you marry someone you will still love if they become bed-bound.” His first wife had spent years in bed with various ailments while he and his daughter took care of her. Then she reached a point where she was able to move around for some time before becoming diabetic, going blind, and becoming bed-bound again for the last years while he took care of her by himself. Sure, he could have run off and left her, but Louis didn’t build on sand like so many idiots. He meant what he vowed. Louis was determined.
Sadly, Louis watched his relatives and friends fall apart and away over the years. Many left the church, left their marriage, left their sanity, and left out all communication with the man who had been their anchor since childhood. Still, the lighthouse kept the beacon going, kept his Bible read and Bible class lessons done, kept up the example of a faithful Christian, kept opening the house to any who needed encouraging, determined to help any who would just reach out. His daughter, one of my favorite people, became torn apart from depression and could not face crowds so she turned into a hermit of sorts. Sometimes Louis would travel to visit and she would stay in her room unable to come out to chat, but Mr. Determined still went hoping that his prayers would be answered – that she could whip the depression and he would be one of the ones to help her and then be there to embrace her.
But Satan wasn’t finished trying to beat him down. In 2001, Louis went with four other older men to meet with the elders at church. They asked the elders to consider the current status of the congregation; an erroneous point had been preached about fellowship, and many of the saints were upset. The men asked the elders to take a stand and correct the error publicly. One of the elders immediately agreed, but the other two did not. The hideous gossip that followed from half of the congregation about these five men was bad enough to make Louis cry, but still he did not back down from what the Bible taught. When his determination for truth would not be heeded by the two, he took his wife to a different church where the men did indeed listen to the truth leaving behind 50 years of attendance. Some folks would say they had been there too long to look for something new, but Louis wasn’t looking for something new – he was determined to find the truth and if that meant throwing his support in with a fledgling group that stood for truth, then he was determined to help them succeed.
More consequences followed. Louis’ first grandson was in college at the time and did not see the big picture as Louis did. When Louis joined a different congregation, this grandson abandoned him and went to live with others saying he could not see his grandparents or family anymore because they had left. Louis never gave up hope that this grandson would come back. He kept the doors of communication open determined to be available when the light came on; it did just in time. The grandson moved back home and came to see Louis right before the death.
Satan was not alone in being unable to get to Louis. Even cancer had to take multiple shots before finally nailing him. Earlier this year he was diagnosed with aggressive cancer in his liver, spinal cord, and lungs. It was only a matter of time. Already a diabetic, Louis took on the chemo and cleaned his body out shocking all the doctors by getting a clean bill of health. It was just borrowed time, though, and the doctors made that clear to him. When it came back, they said, and it always did, they said, it would come with a vengeance. Thankfully, his fall was relatively fast and now he is free from all pain.
Which of these obstacles would have caused me to give up? Caring for a bed-bound wife for years, or having elders refuse to listen to scriptures I am showing them in the Bible? Becoming a diabetic, or having my daughter not talk to me when I went to see her? Losing my first wife to death, or having my grandson refuse to see me because of mistakes he is making?
Louis stood toe-to-toe with Satan, disease, family disintegration, marital woes, and gossip, but with his determination he whipped ‘em all. Jesus says in Matthew 7:14 that the gate to Heaven is narrow and few there be that find it. From all evidence I can see, Louis was one of those determined few. I want to go where he went.