The passing of Nana Evans

Many of us have been through the passing of a mother or father, and to say that this is the worst day of your life is a gross understatement. It is often far greater than the word “worst.” I believe God uses the family unit and the parent-child relationship to do His work here on earth.

Nana Evans, as we lovingly call her, is Connie Evans, who lived in Brooks in her beautiful home place. She was surrounded on a daily basis by a large wonderful loving family who visited her as often as possible. Nana was mostly homebound by multiple sclerosis, a crippling, debilitating disease that often puts most sufferers in a wheelchair.

Nana had round-the-clock home health care, and these gallant caregivers became “family” to all the Evans household. Nana was a member of another church but would often attend our church in Senoia when we had a special function and when she felt well enough to attend. It was an ordeal to get Nana into her wheelchair and special outfitted van and be driven to the church, but come she did whenever possible.

I have visited a lot of shut-in patients in my life as a minister, some at the hospital and some at home, but a visit with Nana Evans was very special. Nana was a quiet person with deep faith and convictions, and a woman who exhibited who she was and what her position was in the family. The whole world would swirl around her with ups and downs and there she sat, with this crippling disease, and never, never, once complained. She remained the center of the family and loved each and every one of them the same. Nana reminded me of the TV commercial that says, “when E.F. Hutton speaks, the world listens.”

Often when my wife, Dee, and I would go to visit her, Dee would take a large card that all our church had signed to let her know we were praying for her and it would really brighten her day as she would ours.

Chuck and Bobby Evans have been members of our church for quite some time and their son, Paul, and my son, Robbie, grew up together. Paul is like a second son to me and as I told his parents “I will treat him like my own,” meaning if he needs discipline while here at our house, he will get it alongside Robbie our son, and if he is at your place and needs it, you do the same. Fortunately Paul and Robbie never needed it, and it’s a good thing because Paul now over six feet tall and Robbie is gaining on him. It would take three or four big men to do the job for either one of them.

God’s mercy is always there, and around 2:30 a.m. Friday morning we received the call that He had reached down and said to Nana, “It’s time; come on home.” That she did and because of her faith in Jesus as her wonderful savior, she was gloriously healed of her dreaded MS and is now once again in the arms of God and her loving husband.

Nana, we will miss your wonderful spirit and your loving kind leadership of the Evans family, and will miss seeing your special van in our church parking lot.

Please say hello to my mom and dad, and Dee’s father also. We love you and miss you and are overjoyed because of your complete healing through Christ.

Funeral arrangements to be announced.

(The church’s Web site is under construction temporarily and will be up and running again shortly.)