GEORGE AND RAMONA WEEMS:
LEADING LIVES OF JOY IN THE LORD
ALL ABOUT JESUS!
ROMANS 15:13 ESV
May the God of hope
fill you with all joy
and peace as you trust in Him,
so that you may overflow with hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit.
God Makes His People Shine
God makes His people shine
with His own glory divine
just like the stars in the night
brighten the darkened skies.
He blesses their lives with
joy and hope as they live by
faith in Him helping others
who take His godly way.
It is as if they lift up
candles lit by Him along
the shadowy ways they
take in following Him.
Always His glory shines
bright in their delighted smiles
as they live their lives
placing their trust in Him.
Always it seems you can hear
them laughing and in joking,
enjoying wholesome fun—
rejoicing in their good Lord.
God gives them His delight
as they serve Him by blessing
others as He blesses
them in the way He loves.
Truly God makes His precious
people shine as they display
His glory, His joy and His peace
and in His love divine.
George always found real joy in playing and coaching sports.
Ramona always had that smile
that reflected her Love of Jesus.
Praise God! We all know people who bless everyone their lives touch. It seems He grants them loving energy as He invests in Kingdom Building through their lives. I know I have been especially blessed to have known such people in abundance. God has crowded my life with men and women, youth and children who seemed to take my hand in theirs so they could lead me further into His Kingdom. I will eternally remain grateful. Sunbeam leaders, R.A. Leaders, Sunday School Teachers, Training Union Leaders, Pastors, Youth Pastors, youth, (both boys and girls), children, (both girls and boys), school teachers, co-workers, school superintendents and directors, school workers; well, this list could go on forever. Praise be to God. He builds His Kingdom by surrounding those He is intent on reaching with glorious examples of His redemption through Jesus. So He renews and transforms people in their day-to-day living.
George and Ramona
stand with pride
as their son, Wes,
marries Sherry.
I write this week about another Christian couple, one I have admired greatly for many years; although our paths crossed only briefly, yet always inspirationally. George (Luke) and Ramona were both born in 1936, he in Gadsden and she in Moulton, Alabama. He went to Glencoe High School, where he played football as a running back, and graduated in 1954. Interestingly, he got the nickname, Luke, when Coach Wilson called him “Loopy” for his curly hair, which was shortened to “Loop” and eventually became “Luke.” And to complicate the name game even more, some family members always called him Ed. She went to Gadsden High School, also graduating in 1954. Theirs was a high school romance, and they had a June wedding shortly after they finished school.
Over the years George served in the Alabama Army National Guard, where he attained the rank of Sargeant. As a longtime firefighter, he served at the Gadsden Fire Department where he eventually retired as a Commander of Station Number 3 in Gadsden. He also worked as a house painter during his “spare time.” Ramona worked at Sears during the 60’s and 70’s. She also served as a substitute teacher at Glencoe High School during the 80’s and 90’s. Then she worked at gift shops after the turn of the century. They had one son, Wes, their daughter-in-law, Sherry, and their grandchildren, Brittany and Cody, whom they loved dearly.
In fact, George and Ramona centered their lives on family and faith. They directed youth groups at Louis Street Baptist, and then at Glencoe First Baptist. They also served as youth Sunday School teachers for many years. George coached Pee-Wee football and R.A. Basketball, winning the state tournament in 1973. He also coached men’s and women’s softball for many years. She served as the Etowah Baptist Association’s Acteens Director and then, as WMU Director. Ramona later became a long-time adult ladies Sunday School teacher. She was also known as the “Cookie Lady,” since she regularly supplied drinks and cookies for youth meetings over many years. Look back over this list and you will be as impressed as I have been, by their energy, their reliability, their readiness to serve in every way possible to bring young people to faith in Christ. They certainly spent the time and effort required to see young lives changed by faith in Christ. They lived as profound examples of lives devoted to service for Christ before so many youth over the years.
Family and faith always
brought joy and happiness
to George and Ramona.
I know God blessed their marriage, and He made it strong, and He used it well as a witness for how Jesus makes all the difference. I know there are hundreds of folks who are no-longer young people, who continue to be blessed by the truth of the Gospel shared in the midst of food and fun and sports and missions and Bible Study—all centering on the the blessed Lordship of Jesus in individual lives, in families, in churches, on basketball courts and on football fields. Once, when I was teaching in St. Marys, Georgia, I had the opportunity, through Jim and Celeste Dunnington, my sister and her husband, to do some Bible study sessions with the Glencoe First Baptist youth near Orlando. I was able that weekend to see how naturally and how lovingly both George and Ramona related to the youth—sharing freely and lovingly their faith in Christ.
George loved coaching
as he poured out his life
into the lives of football,
basketball and softball players.
I know, too, that they both served faithfully and effectively at Louis Street (where I was baptized) and Glencoe First Baptist, (where I grew up). I know that they both expended all of their energy for their investment in the Kingdom of God. As Becky and I served together on the Mission Field, we experienced first hand how faithfully Ramona lived out a passion for missionary education and support, along with praying for missionaries. When we would be home for furloughs, we had the opportunity to see how effectively she worked in leading Etowah Baptist young women and women in support of missions.
Over the years we came to know Ramona as a prayer warrior. In her Acteen and WMU work, in their youth work together with her husband, George, she not only advocated for prayer, but personally practiced it constantly and deeply. The other ladies at Glencoe First Baptist certainly came to rely on Ramona for her ready smile, her encouragement, and her prayers. She and George both had a way of doing what Jesus did with His disciples—focusing on each one as uniquely important to God, and so very, very special in His eyes. One note about how she communicated this to me—while she was working at a gift shop, she saw the perfect small sculpture for me—a small boy, with a butterfly net, watched over faithfully by an angel. And, on that little boy’s nose was a beautiful butterfly. Now, many of my friends know how special butterflies (and their metamorphosis parable of being born again, as they change from creepy crawly worms into beautifully-winged creatures). Ramona somehow knew my heart and how God spoke so powerfully to me in this particular way, and found the perfect treasure to communicate that wonder I felt in God’s redemptive way. I still treasure this perfect gift today.
Ramona formed deep
and abiding Christian
friendships over the years.
Ramona lost George at a comparatively young age. I believe he just wore his body out, working so hard for God’s Kingdom and in providing for his family. Still, she faithfully continued their pattern of serving God, loving others and certainly, loving their families for many years. Becky and I had the privilege to visit and pray with Ramona as she was entering the final months of her long-time battle with cancer. She still had her beautiful smile. She still had a heart overflowing with love for God and His people. She still had joy in life, and her powerful desire to live more and serve more. She believed that there was going to be a miraculous healing for her; but if not, the joy of at last being in the Presence of her glorious God she and George had so long served together. Both George and Ramona were those kinds of godly people who left big holes in the lives of the many people they had loved and served in Jesus’ name. And surely, they left a legacy to their son, his wife, and their children, and to so many, many others they had long loved in Jesus, along their way—a legacy of serving a God who loves us so much, we can never find enough in this life, to give back to Him. And yet in Heaven; . . . well, for George and Ramona, and I trust, for ourselves, all of us, that will be “ . . . a whole ‘nother story.” A wholly divine story which continually deepens in His glory and for our joy.
You can read stories
like this one about people who have made their lives
ALL ABOUT JESUS
in the book by that name.
I was one of the youth that Mr. and Mrs. Weems influenced through church and church camps. They were like my second parents. Me and Mr. Weems would room together at church camp when I had their son Wes. I had so much respect for him and his wife. They didn’t just talk a good game, they lived it. They did so many good things that no one ever saw. I wish they were alive so I could go and tell them how much of an impact they had on my life. Wes Weems is carrying on the same values that his mom and dad lived as a teacher, coach, and mentor to so many students at Glencoe High. If you ever wanted to see someone who let the Lord live in their lives totally, you’ve got Mr. and Mrs. George Weems.