By Leigh Pritchett
Correspondent, The Alabama Baptist
Marilyn Spurgeon firmly believes that Kingdom work continues beyond the age of 90. After 60 years of teaching and volunteering in various capacities in church — and spending many, many hours in the church’s prayer room — this Florence woman still feels the call to serve.
Ministry: Calling, sending cards to and contacting homebound individuals
Church name: Highland Baptist Church, Florence, in Colbert-Lauderdale Baptist Association
Life verse: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee; be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” (Isa. 41:10)
Q: Tell about a “turning point” in your life and how God was involved.
A: It started out that I got an unwanted letter from a young preacher boy in our youth group. I feel like that letter charted the course of my life from that point until now. In that letter, he pointed out what I was doing that wasn’t right for a Christian young lady and what I could do about it. I was enraged. My girlfriend and I were dating boys who would not go to church with us. After church on Sunday evening, they were waiting and we would go with them. The preacher boy pointed out this was not a good practice for me and, certainly, what I was doing would weaken my witness for Christ. I thought about that a lot after I was able to put my rage away. The next young man who came into my life was Charles Howard Spurgeon. He asked me for a date and I said, “I cannot go on a date with you unless you go to church.” He didn’t attend church but agreed to go. He started going to everything. We were married 64 wonderful years. And God blessed us with two wonderful daughters, Carol (deceased) and Margaret. Margaret just goes out of her way to take care of me.
Q: What has God been teaching you lately?
A: In this season of my life, I’m experiencing declining physical and mental abilities. I’m finding that I’ve had to change in the ways that I’m able to serve the Lord. This has been a very difficult adjustment for me. A while back in my quiet time, I was reading out of Psalm 92. In Psalm 92:14, it says, “They shall still bring forth fruit in old age.” I underlined in my Bible the word “still.” It’s in God’s word, and I believe it. Through reading His word and the Holy Spirit working in my life, I find strength in that verse. God not only gave me that verse, but He has given me a way to do it. As John 15:5 says, if I abide in Him, He will abide in me, and I will have the guidance and strength to bring forth fruit.
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