Hard Winter at Broken Arrow Crossing, Book 1, Stuart Brannon Series
SHE’S A STANDER!
All the heroines in the Stuart Brannon Series rate what I call ‘standers.’ They can be counted on to be there during the toughest of times.
I got a letter from Kelly of Lyndale, Indiana. She enjoyed my Westerns. “I’m only eleven years old,” she wrote, “but I’ve enjoyed every one of them. And I also read all the Nathan T. Riggins Series.” Then she gave me a list of her favorite Stephen Bly books, especially the Stuart Brannon series. She told me about her favorite characters. Besides Stuart Brannon, she also mentioned Lisa, Rose, Elizabeth, Julie, Harriet, and Victoria. “And Velvet is nice, too,” she said. The term standers comes from the Old West.
Little Kelly ended her letter, “P.S. Even though I’m only a girl, I love Stuart Brannon.” He’s also an example of a stander. I hope she’ll aspire to be like these characters and people in her life like them as she grows up.
Spiritual Standers
“She’s a stander.” There’s nothing higher a person could ever say about their spouse. What characteristics make a woman a spiritual stander?
- She has a close, personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Paul traveled to Macedonia and stayed there several days. On the Sabbath he went with friends to the river to find a place to pray and spoke to some women.
Acts 16:14ff, “One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. ‘If you consider me a believer in the Lord,’ she said, ‘come and stay at my house.’ And she persuaded us.”
I think Lydia was a stander. She had that close, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. In fact, Acts 16 also reveals the humorous account of Paul having a vision of a man from Macedonia calling him to come to minister in Europe. When he gets there, a lady named Lydia has a heart open and ready for God. She understands her relationship with God comes through Jesus’ action alone. Her commitment to the Lord is separate from her husband’s or her parents. Her relationship is so close that sometimes she might embarrass others by the familiarity. She may even secretly think it’s a bit different than anyone else’s.
“When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them” (Luke 7:37ff)
This woman shocked the people around her, but not Jesus.
Standers Hunger for Spiritual Truth
- She has an almost obsessive hunger to know the Word of God better.
Mary sat at the feet of Jesus. Meanwhile, her sister Martha slaved away in the kitchen, doing all the work to prepare a meal. She’d been prepared to feed maybe six and suddenly as many as sixty showed up. She’s trying to get things ready, and Mary won’t come help. When Martha interrupts the meeting to complain, Jesus said, “Mary has chosen what is better.” She found the right call, the important thing (Luke 10:39-42).
When I look out on the congregation every Sunday morning, I can look eyeball-to-eyeball at everyone in church. I see the women like that. And I know which eyelids are closed and which are open. And which have the hunger for God’s Word in their eyes.
My wife Janet has a special close friend whose name is also Jan. It’s confusing at times because they both answer when I say, “Jan.” After months of that I said, “I’ve got to give you gals nicknames.” So, I call them Thelma and Louise. I did give them a choice. They thought that was better than Lucy and Ethel. I look out each Sunday and see Louise with her notepad and pen, ready for what God has to say, not just my little words of advice, to incorporate His word into her life. That’s the attitude of a stander.
Praise Songs
- She’s a woman who hears the music of praise.
In Luke 1:46, Jesus’ mother, Mary begins her Magnificat, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” A tune of praise seems to hover in the back of her mind. You might know some ladies that way.
Phyllis, another friend of ours and a teacher, encountered a car accident several decades ago. She severely injured her back and suffered pain all the time. She couldn’t sleep at night or walk across a room without discomfort, despite numerous surgeries and treatments. Most people don’t know that about Phyllis because she doesn’t complain. You don’t hear her moan and groan. In fact, if you sat down to talk to her for five minutes, she’d tell you all about how wonderful and gracious the Lord has been to her. You hear a lot about Jesus when around Phyllis. No matter what her circumstances or feelings, she’s always got a song of praise.
God’s Point of View
- She quickly discerns every circumstance from the perspective of God’s divine plan.
One of the most dramatic examples in Scripture of a spiritual stander comes from Rahab the harlot. Hebrews 11 even lists her as one of the heroines of the faith.
In Joshua 2:8ff she says to the spies in her city, “I know that the Lord has given this land to you … please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you.”
Rahab recognized God’s actions before it happened. She could see God’s big plan. She wanted to act in faith believing on her behalf and her family’s. Seeing the big picture of God’s purpose can change personal responses.
When in her eighties, new neighbors with a bunch of little kids moved next to Mrs. Howison. At her age, she preferred a quiet, peaceful routine. But the children often threw toys and balls over the fence into her yard and then ran, screaming, to retrieve them. That threatened to be a complete nuisance.
Not able to get around too well because of her health, Mrs. Howison pondered that perhaps God brought these little ones into her yard. She didn’t have to go any distance to interact with them. So, she began the habit each afternoon to be prepared with baked cookies and Bible reading. After a while, when the kids came over, they went to the back porch for goodies and stories. Mrs. Howison looked beyond the inconvenience to the divine opportunity.
Standers Seek Lofty Goals
- A woman who stands has high and noble goals for her husband, her children and herself.
Hannah was a stander. “O Lord Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life” (1 Samuel 1:11).
Think about all that Hannah’s son Samuel contributed to the people of Israel. And to our lives too with his example, teaching, and faithfulness. This man at the end of his life stood before his people and said, “Look, if I ever did anything wrong, point it out right now. I’ll take care of it.” And they found nothing. We got Samuel from a mother like Hannah with a high and noble goal for her son.
When I graduated from seminary many years ago, my parents and other family members attended this exciting celebration. Finally, I finished my formal training and could get on to the next step. Then, in the back of the big, crowded church, I noticed a lot of commotion. Attendants brought in a lady with intravenous bottles lying in a cranked-up hospital bed. They pushed her down a wide aisle. I didn’t know the lady or her illness, but it made us all curious about her story.
As the graduates crossed the stage to the podium where the seminary president handed out degrees, they finally called one particular name. I heard the lady shout as she propped up on her elbow, “That’s my Leroy!” She prayed for a high and noble goal, that he would get through seminary and serve the Lord. And she lived to see it. Leroy made it because of a mom like that.
On High Spiritual Alert
- Standers stay spiritually sensitive to every situation.
In Luke 1:39ff, Jesus’ mother Mary visits kin Elizabeth, who says, “As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!” Elizabeth has an idea something spiritual is going on here. It’s not just a relative coming to see her because of her pregnancy or to announce she’s pregnant. God is busy doing something and she knew it.
For years after I greet people after church, I have Janet stand by my side and we both greet the folks. One reason is that I discovered a long time ago that Janet is often more spiritually sensitive than I am. When we get through, she might say, “What was wrong with Amy today?” And I’ll say, “Oh, nothing. Everything’s fine.” “No, it wasn’t.” And I need to hunt around to find Amy and find out what’s going on.
Stand by Her Man
- Standers have a stubborn, fierce commitment to their husbands.
I suppose the classic example of just the opposite would be Mrs. Job. When everything in the world has gone wrong with Job, what does his wife say? “Are you still hanging on to your integrity? Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9)
Instead, consider Solomon’s Song of Songs 8:6,7, “Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters quench love; rivers cannot wash it away.”
I suppose you don’t really get to exhibit that kind of love until a husband experiences tough challenges. He loses a job or gets sick or suffers great physical struggles. Maybe he blows it with sinful, unbiblical, or illegal actions. That’s when you prove the real commitment, when it’s so much easier to give up on him. Meantime, she may have her own physical, financial, or forgiveness demands that tempt her to say, “I quit!” That’s when a stander shines.
Persistent Mamas
- Standers feel personally responsible to petition the Lord on behalf of her husband and children.
In Mark 7:24-30 Jesus and His disciples left Israel for the northern region of Tyre. They got away for a little private time together. But interruptions happen. A Syrophoenician woman hears they’re close by and falls at Jesus’ feet. She tells him of her daughter’s torment by a demon and begs Him to drive it out.
Jesus said, “First, let the children eat all they want, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”
Jesus answered her request, “No. I have an agenda, other plans.” But she wouldn’t let go. “Lord, I understand that. But if you just have a little time left over, I want the scraps. That’s all it would take. Jesus heard her heart and delivered that child afar from the demon.
Standers don’t just go to the Lord and say, “Bless my kid. Bless my husband.” They’re determined to pray through it all with specifics.
Card for Praying Standers
I keep a card in my Bible for my daily prayers. My wife Janet made it for me and one for herself. We pray different requests for our three boys each day. For instance, Tuesdays we pray for affirmation, thanksgiving, and claiming promises. On Wednesdays, we pray God would bind the lying spirits they might hear, the ungodly influences around them. We ask they have a spirit of discernment. Thursdays, we pray for hedges of protection around our sons. On Fridays, we pray for godly counselors in their lives with the spirit of truth. Saturdays we pray for a vision of God’s will and purpose to come to them. On Sundays we pray for satisfying relationships—with God, marriage partners, friends, family.
I have a friend from North Carolina who travels with her husband where sometimes I’m speaking too. No matter where we are in the country, she never changes her watch. It’s always North Carolina time. I asked her why she didn’t change to the present time zone. She said, “Well, because I pray for my two children every day at two o’clock in the afternoon, North Carolina time. Since they were little, it’s my habit and they know it. They know mom’s praying for them.”
Female Mentor Models
- Standers hold deep admiration for faithful, older women.
What a classic verse, sometimes used at weddings.
“Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16).
Of course, Ruth spoke that not to her husband, but to her mother-in-law. Spiritual standers are drawn to the strength of other women’s faith.
Years ago in southern California, a new couple in the community visited our church. After the service, I talked with them. They seemed interested in several different programs we had. I shared with them what we offered in the way of ministry and invited them to try them out. The next Sunday morning, they didn’t return. In fact, I didn’t see them for a number of Sundays after that. I figured they found a place more suited to them somewhere. Then, I did hear the gal attended a Women’s Association function.
The next Sunday, they returned. After the service, the lady came up to me. “We’ve decided this is where we want to worship,” she said. As a pastor, that made me feel good. I was quite convinced my sterling preaching must have convinced them. So, I asked, “Why?”
“Well, it was really the Women’s Association meeting. I sat down next to this lady.” She gave a name. “We visited together. She asked about my interests and shared her faith. After an hour next to that lady, I decided this is the kind of church where I want to be, if ladies like this attend.”
Sometimes-Thankless Job
- Standers understand her indispensable role in her family, whether it’s acknowledged or not.
“Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her. Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all” (Proverbs 31:28). What a beautiful verse!
How wonderful this woman’s children bless her, and her husband praises her. But I know not all children do that. Nor do all husbands. A spiritual stander understands the importance of her role, even if she doesn’t get that kind of affirmation very often.
I love to visit Cheyenne, Wyoming, one of my favorite places. In the mornings, I like to jog, so I’ve run around windy, wide-open Cheyenne. This city still seems like the wild and woolly west. You can be a cowboy there and work for a living on horseback. It has fewer people per square mile than about any other state, besides Alaska. You need a pioneer spirit to survive.
Several times, I’ve run by the state capitol. In front looms a statue that’s a symbol of pioneer America and captures what it takes to settle this wild land. It’s a statue of a pioneer woman.
When I see that statue, I think about spiritual standers—women who’ve made a difference in their families, communities, and churches. I praise God for every one of them.
Stephen Bly
Circa 1996, Warm Beach Christian Camps & Conference Center, Stanwood, Washington
Sheet Music Image by Sergio Guzmán from Pixabay
Couple Hands Image by Pexels from Pixabay
Thank You Image by Alexandra_Koch from Pixabay
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