Doc Henderson

Dr. Marion Henderson (known by his students as Doc Henderson) was one of my professors in my undergrad at Lincoln Christian University. He taught the Gospels, my fifth semester Greek class, and Revelation. During my college years (1998-2002), Doc was already well along in years and had apparently been teaching since the mid 1800's or something like that, but he was still going strong. I remember he usually (if not exclusively) read from the gospels in his class and at chapel from the Greek text. (Something that I will probably never be able to do). Not having been around my alma mater for almost 10 years, I have since wondered what Doc is up to. Any other LCU grad knows that Doc's greatest desire in life was to hear the words "Well done, good and faithful servant" at the end of his life. So when I heard what he is doing now, I shouldn't have been surprised.

Recently a friend of mine (Josh Peigh) heard news that Doc Henderson is now in a nursing home. Anyone who has transitioned an elderly grandmother or grandfather to a nursing home knows how painful and difficult it is for everyone involved. To live your entire life as an adult, having your own home, possessions, and independence, and then having it all taken away from you is something I cannot imagine. In fact, it seems that many people simply cannot bear it. It's a painful parting with the only way of life they have known and can lead to bitterness, an obsession with the "good ol' days", and little focus on the life that lie ahead.

So naturally, I wondered how Doc Henderson would take it. Josh texted me last night about what Doc is doing in his nursing home: he's teaching the gospels to the other residents! While most people have given up on a meaningful future at this point and prefer to focus on the past, he still believes that the ministry God has given him is not over! I am amazed and inspired by this wonderful man. I hope that I am half the follower of Jesus that Doc Henderson is if I make it to my 90's!

A Word on Sleep (Via 1885)

"A person should never be waked except in cases of urgent necessity. When a man falls asleep he is in a shape for repairs. All the intricate machinery of his body is being overhauled and put into order for next day's work. Nature knows what the tired body needs. She lays it on the bed, surrounds it with the refreshing air of night, covers it with darkness and lets the man rest. "Tired nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep," visits him, and as the hours pass by his energies are renewed, his strength comes back, and when the daylight steals through the window, he opens his eyes and feels like a new man. If he is early to bed, he awakes correspondingly early. Now, who will go to that man's side an hour before he opens his eyes and say to nature: "Stand aside and let him get up; he has had enough rest!" Nature will say: "You can take him, if you will, but I will charge him with an hour's loss of sleep, and I'll collect out of his bones and nerves, and hair and eyesight. You can't cheat me, I'll find property to levy on." Nature is the best book-keeper in the world. You may over-draw, but you must pay back, even to the pound of flesh."

Courtesy of "Northern Messenger" October 15th, 1885