Janet quite literally rolled into Jon Dick’s life at a church picnic 20 years ago. When he recounts the story, my usually engaging friend said he was speechless in her presence. He had never met someone with such a beautiful heart and who lived in uninhibited joy. Her laughter and the impish twinkle in her eyes were infectious. Before long, Jon asked Janet’s dad — a revered pastor — for her hand in marriage.
Janet’s father wheeled her down the center aisle of their church in her wheelchair as his daughter married the love of her life. Multiple sclerosis, which Janet contracted as a teen, had already taken away her ability to walk. The ex-cheerleader lost the use of her legs, but not her love for life. The former Miss Wheelchair South Carolina had resolved to live every day as a precious gift from God. Her wedding to Jon was a monument to God’s blessing.
A half-dozen years later, Janet rolled into our church. By then, her MS had rapidly advanced. She had lost the use of her legs, her right arm, and most significantly — her ability to speak. Her communication was limited to finger-spelling with her left hand. About the same time we met, her doctors thought Janet’s day on Earth might soon come to an end.
Her family noticed that her stomach was beginning to swell. The doctors thought it was a feeding tube problem. Her mom had a different suspicion. She covertly gave Janet a pregnancy test, and it was positive. For Janet, this announcement was another monument to God’s amazing grace in her life. She prayed she would live long enough to see her baby before she died. Her doctors were uncertain that her prayer would be answered — but it was. Her son is a bright, outgoing middle school student today.
Janet’s love of life were sustained for a dozen more years by the love of her husband, the support of her family, and her profound faith that God is good.
Janet’s sister and her husband bought the house next door — her parents bought the house across the street — and a family “compound” was organized to provide for her care. Church friends from around the nation sent funds. She lived her final years in an intensive care unit in her home — yet most Sunday mornings, she and her family would roll into our church just after the service began. Her smile and sparkling eyes would literally light up the room.
As Janet’s health continued to deteriorate, it seemed that Jon’s love for her only grew. A sought-after business consultant, Jon became a songwriter — and his music tells the story of how God’s “Tender grace was written on her face.”
While their friends marveled at their love, courage and perseverance, Jon and Janet have continually communicated to us that God has always given them all that they need, and more than they deserved. In the only recording of Janet’s voice, she proclaimed 2 Corinthians 12:9, “He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Janet died on Nov. 14. God’s tender grace — tangibly expressed through those who loved her — allowed sorrow to be mingled with laughter and joy. Mirroring what surely must have happened in heaven, the funeral service concluded with a standing ovation — for Janet and for her God of tender grace.
