Life & Death

Who is this Woman?

Laurel Stanell 1936- 2025, one of the kindest people I have ever known. (Pictured above, is her kindness captured in childhood).

This morning I picked up a book titled, Who is This Man?, by John Ortberg, and started to read. This book belonged to my Dad’s recently deceased cousin Laurel. After reading only 5 pages of this book, I wonder how most humans fail to understand the impact this one man, Jesus, had on earth and on each one of our lives. Laurel lived a life with impact just as Jesus did. Although she did not remember much near the end of her life, her goodness was witnessed by others even up to her last day on earth.

If there was ever a walking example of love and goodness in my life, Laurel Stanell was that example. Over the past week, my brother and I took on the task of removing her belongings from her room in the long-term care facility where she had spend the last 3 years of her life. The belongings she possessed near the end of her life were mostly letters, cards, books, Bibles, and pictures. These were what she valued most. While we were there, we were approached several times by members of the staff. Everyone of them spoke of how kind she was, and said that she was always cheerful.

On our last trip to the car on our second visit, we had literally just left her room, each of us pushing large carts of furniture, a woman stopped us. She was directly in our path. She asked of my relation to Laurel, and I told her. She then proceeded to tell me that the day Laurel had her heart attack, she had seen her walking (with her walker) in the hallway. She proceeded to say that she was extremely happy that day, and she kept saying that she was going to see her husband. Interestingly enough, it was this same date, 20 years prior that her husband had left this earth.

Laurel was a quiet, soft- spoken woman with a cheerful smile, who might easily be overlooked by many. However, she mirrored the love of Jesus. She joined us for most of our holidays over the past 20 years. In all honesty, we did not give her presence the recognition that she deserved while she was with us. She did not come bearing gifts (worldly standards). She was different. She was kind. She was thoughtful. She was goodness. She was a true example of Jesus. Her life made a difference to many through her acts of love. For example, four years into her married life, she and her husband made the decision to take in four children, who's parents had both died from illnesses within the same year. Although they never adopted these children, they loved them and supported them throughout the rest of their lives. This act takes a special couple of people. Not everyone would take on this grand responsibility. Many lives were impacted by this act of kindness and love.

Jesus also changed lives with his acts of kindness and love. He broke the mold of this world by establishing a different form of leadership. He simply mirrored behavior that He deemed appropriate and inclusive. He relied on others, the 12 apostles, to use their gifts to gain wisdom from His teaching. These men were responsible for establishing the church, and all died for their love (or betrayal, Judas) of Jesus. The church continues to be challenged, but is a house of God and teaches of Jesus' significance throughout the centuries that have followed His life. No other man who has risen to a position of power and recognition throughout their lifetime, has risen in this fashion.

Unlike other recognizable men whose names have been forgotten, most know the name of Jesus to this day, over 2000 years since His death. The irony of the book in the picture above, The History of Rome, a powerful regime that tried to establish their importance by dating the calendar around their existence. Jesus did not make attempts during His time on earth to preserve a legacy. He did not even write a book. Yet, our calendar is set according to His birth, B.C., and His death, A.D.

Jesus' words and actions established major changes for women and children on earth. “His treatment of women led to the formation of a community that was so congenial to women that they would join it in record numbers.”-John Ortberg. We have witnessed in our own country the rise of women in society. Women running for President over the past couple elections, the most esteemed position of leadership and power in our country.

One could say that this change began when Jesus, a Jew, who sat at a well and spoke to a Samaritan woman. At this time, society rules established that men were not to speak to women or be alone with women in public. Jews did not like Samaritans, and would normally avoid Samaria all together with a longer trip, by walking around Samaria, so as to avoid any contact. With these limitations already being broken, Jesus spoke to a woman, who was shunned by society for her sinful and lustful nature. She was judged so harshly and avoided by most. The gossip that went on about this women was probably constant. The obvious body language of other's judgement when she was in close proximity left her isolated in her own shame, seeking companionship from men, simply so she was not alone. I'm only speculating here, but all of these worldly influences are still witnessed in society today. People are divisive in general. Yet, the story of Jesus speaking to this Samaritan woman at the well in the middle of the afternoon, a time when she is likely not to see others, is still spoken of today over 2000 years later. It was this woman who ran to the village to tell others to follow her back to the well, to meet this man who revealed to her most everything she's ever done. It is documented that many Samaritan's believed that Jesus was the Son of God after this interaction which was prompted by this one Samaritan woman. This is just one of the many examples of Jesus' interaction and inclusion of women in the Bible.

Laurel was a women who established herself has a prominent member of her society and worked for the Pinehurst Area Visitors Bureau for years following her husband’s death. She never remarried, and was a strong, independent, Godly woman. She wrote a book, Early Morning Walks with God, that was inspired by her daily morning walks around a 3 mile loop in Whispering Pines. Her life was impacted by Jesus' life who paved the way for women to become valued members of society.

"For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?"

-1 Corinthians 4:7