This testimony further explores extravagant love by focusing on how God lavishes love on us and what we can learn to enhance our walk with Jesus. As I write this, one of God’s glorious gifts is exploding around us. Here in north-central West Virginia, winter’s dullness and frigid weather give way to His gift of spring with its welcomed profusion of color, the sweet smell of blossoming shrubs and trees, and the melodies of songbirds galore. As spring captures our consciousness, we realize it is more than just a season of warmer weather; it is a season of renewal, excitement, and hope. I find God’s timing of spring’s rebirth as pure perfection. Spring comes precisely when we need it. I could spend several testimonies on how spring blesses my life. Still, my focus this time is on an ever-faithful and abundantly loving God, our blessing creator and protective shade.
I love that Easter falls during nature’s season of rebirth. I often think that God purposely timed the awakening of His creation here on earth by sending His Son to drive out the darkness of the world. The symmetry of warm sunlight stimulating rebirth in the natural world and God’s eternal light offering hope and salvation to mankind is fascinating. However, what is more significant to me is the concept of light overcoming darkness, an essential theme throughout the Bible. It symbolizes how God spiritually enlightens our hearts, minds, and, in essence, our entire being. How important is this concept of light for us? Jesus answered this question best: “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life” (John 8:12 NKJV).
Jesus didn’t just show up on earth by happenstance. It was Godly inspired, planned, and enacted for one reason: Our Father loves us so much that He wanted to redeem us from the darkness of sin for Himself. Please reread that and ponder it for a moment. I’ll make it easy for you and rewrite it. WE are celebrating Easter for one reason: Our Father loves us so much that He wanted to redeem us from the darkness of sin for Himself. That might sound familiar. In John 3:16, the Apostle expresses it much better than I, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 NKJV). We’ve seen and heard that verse so many times; to some, it might seem stale, even moot. But it is the most extravagantly loving statement ever recorded to the born-again Christian. It is the only reason Easter exists, not for painted eggs for children to find, Easter bonnets or any other finery, or for family gatherings around a good meal, but solely to provide mankind God’s path to salvation.
It is hard for me to get my mind around that God loves you and me so much that He would put His only Son through such a torturous death so we could live through Him (see 1 John 4:9). Add to that Jesus’ overwhelming desire to please His Father by bearing our sins on the cross so we could become a Child of God. Jesus, who knew no sin, did have some second thoughts in the Garden of Gethsemane, though. He prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39 ESV). Thankfully for us, Jesus loved His Father unconditionally and always did what pleased Him (see John 8:29). So, Jesus willingly completed God’s plan for our Salvation by dying on that cross. Three days later, angels would roll away the stone of darkness, allowing Jesus’ eternal light to shine forth on that first Easter morning. He is Risen, He is Risen, He is Risen indeed! Today and this coming Easter morning, His light still shines forth, inviting everyone to come to the foot of the cross to be washed in His blood and set free!
I accepted His invitation when I was seventy and have been bathed in His extravagant love ever since. That was twelve years ago, and it was the start of my spiritual journey, my walk with Jesus. That’s when I picked up my cross to follow Him. I didn’t know what that meant back then, nor did I know where we were going. When I say “we,” I mean Jesus and me. Prior to that day, at the foot of the cross, I followed my selfish worldly desires. However, it didn’t take long before I realized something had changed, as my old ways no longer seemed relevant. I began thirsting for something new, a new purpose. I would eventually learn that something, that purpose, was all about bringing glory to God. I didn’t understand it initially, but I knew following Him was where I needed to head. One of the first scripture verses that touched my heart is 2 Peter 3:18.
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.” 2 Peter 3:18 (NIV)
As Peter instructed, I learned early in my walk that I needed to dedicate the rest of my life to growing in grace and knowledge of Jesus for the sole purpose of bringing glory to God the Father. But how do you get started?
In the book 1 Corinthians, Paul talks about new Christians being infants who are spiritually immature (see 1 Corinthians 3:1-3). Wisdom doesn’t come upon us all at once; that’s why he says we should first be fed milk, just as any infant. I quickly learned that meant beginning with the basics of the Gospel. Here are two examples from the Gospels that were so important for me to learn. Jesus tells us to listen with OPEN HEARTS so we will receive more revelation (see Mark 4:25). He tells us to obey Him just as He sought only to fulfill the desire of His Father that sent Him (see John 5:30). Looking back, I now know the reason for the need to understand the Gospels, which is if you are going to walk with Jesus, you first need to know and then obey His commands. You can’t be about doing your own thing anymore. I discovered that I needed to let His light and truth guide me, and I chose to do so. FYI, you can only follow Him by choosing to do so, and He knows if you make that choice. You can fool others and yourself, but you can’t fool Jesus. He knows our hearts better than anyone.
Jesus talked about letting the seeds of understanding fall on fertile ground and let it be watered and tended so we eventually begin producing fruit ourselves. The same applies to new Christians, just like a garden, which takes time to grow and produce. There are no shortcuts; at least for me, there weren’t. I realized I needed to start digging deeper into scripture, spending more time in prayer, participating in Bible studies, not only attending church regularly but paying attention more, joining other Christians in good works for the needy, using my gifts and talents for others, etc., all for God’s glory.
So, here I am, twelve years later, still trying to mature in my faith with the sole purpose of trying to bring glory to God, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I can’t imagine being more blessed and grateful for the journey I have been on! Looking back, I realize I was like Paul indicated; I was an infant who was happy knowing that “Jesus loves me, yes I know for the Bible tells me so.” While I still love that children’s song and can still hear my mum singing it to me, I now realize I didn’t have a clue how much God truly loved me. I wish I could explain how great His faithfulness is, how expansive His love is, how boundless His grace is, and how abundant His mercies are. I could more easily explain the universe and its intricacies than the endless limits of God’s character and nature. It is enough for me to know that the Father would willingly sacrifice His Son, who also obediently bore my sins on the cross, to realize he loves me completely. And fortunately, we have scripture to give us an inkling of the endless limits of His love and mercy. For example:
“The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”
Lamentations 3:22-23 (NLT)
His love and mercy earnestly began once I committed my life to Jesus. I can also look back on my life before that time and realize that the Lord was watching over me and stood beside me as my protective shade. You will note that I modified Psalm 125:5 (my opening scripture) to apply it to myself. I wouldn’t be here writing this now if He had not been shielding me from harm, both physical and worldly. I believe my meeting a girl named Liva in 1963 was divinely appointed. He knew I needed a strong Christian woman in my life to steer me in the right direction. Over the past twelve years, I have experienced my fair share of His love and mercies that have allowed Him to work through me as I serve Him. There have been many times when I would not have made it without Him carrying me across the finish line. I’ll share my most recent challenging experience of leaning on His protective shade.
My Protective Shade
Last August, the Band of Brothers again undertook our Help Us Help Kids annual Christmas project to bless disadvantaged kids and needy families. It is a project I love and have been blessed to lead for ten years. I didn’t know if I was up to it again as I had felt so lethargic over the summer, requiring frequent naps. At the time, I put it down to the extremely hot summer, which kept me from being active. However, I thought with all the tremendous help we get from volunteers and the fact we have so many generous donors year after year, I could take on the leadership role again, and we could reach our $45,000 goal. It didn’t take long before I realized I only had enough energy to work on the project and nothing else. Usually, I could work in my garden, take photography trips across the state, go fishing, and live an active lifestyle while still actively working on our project. As I got into October and November, exhaustion and fatigue made things extremely difficult. But I kept pressing on, as did my brothers. December is still a blur as I also dealt with COVID on top of my exhaustion. We raised $60,000 because God had touched so many generous hearts. It was humbling for us to pass all that loving support on to those who needed it.
Along came January; my goal now was to take a couple months off to rest and recover. In mid-January, I had a regularly scheduled cardiologist appointment. I shared my story of exhaustion and the need to constantly nap. He said let’s do a stress test. It was planned for March 27th. I was told to take it easy till then. Then on Tuesday, February 25th, I would go to St. Joseph’s Cardiac Care Clinic for my biweekly workout; nothing strenuous, though, while I was waiting for my stress test. About three-quarters through the session, I began perspiring, which was rare, and I had some mild chest pain when I finished. The nurse took my blood pressure, and it was significantly elevated. Off to the ER in a wheelchair I went, with me mildly protesting all the way. It was almost 11:00 a.m. at that point. The ER waiting room was packed, but I was quickly rolled into triage. In a short time, I went back for an EKG and X-rays. Then, I went back to the ER waiting room, where I remained sitting in the hard wheelchair until 8:49 p.m. when I was wheeled back to the ER itself. From 11 a.m. that morning, the waiting room remained packed with people coming and going. Watching the scene of ill people, I prayed for them and asked for the Lord’s protective shade to shield me from all the flu that surrounded me.
When I returned to the main ER area, I was put in a room (with walls) and was so thankful to be out of that uncomfortable wheelchair. I quickly got checked out and learned that I would require a stress test first thing in the morning. It was a long night, which was made longer by my buzzer to the nurse not working. I had to wait until I heard some noise and then shouted. At about 7:00 a.m., after very little sleep, I was lying there feeling a little sorry for myself, having some chest pain and lightheadedness, and wondering what the plan for the day would be. It was time to pray again. I said a little prayer for strength for Liva and myself. I did say that I was feeling a little isolated and alone and asked for reassurance that all would go well. I also acknowledged that I was okay with whatever His plan was. I had no sooner finished my prayer–maybe thirty seconds–and the door opened. A lovely young lady with a beautiful smile said, “Hi, Mr. Tucker, my name is Angel. I will be your nurse taking care of you today.” After doing a few things like listening to my chest and taking my BP, she was off to get me a new buzzer. She had no sooner left the room when there was a slight knock on the door. A security guard said a pastor friend was here to see me. He was on his way to a breakfast meeting but wanted to stop by to say a prayer to get me through the day. He was there and was gone in a minute or two. How amazing! After my prayer asking for reassurance and in almost no time, His protective shade engulfed me in the form of two angels. I knew I was ready for whatever lay ahead and knew that I needed to take the focus off myself and pray for others who needed His shade, too. Did everything go smoothly from there? No, but I had no worries as I had God’s reassurance and a slew of prayer warriors lifting me up.
At about 9:30 a.m., I was taken to the stress test area. As I was getting prepped, it was abruptly cancelled as I had taken a medication the night before, which could negatively impact the test results. I go back to my ER room, hoping to have some breakfast. Wrong; as I went into waiting mode again while the doctors talked, I was told there was a chance I would retake the test in the afternoon. At about 3:00 p.m., it was decided the stress test was off for the day but on for the next morning. Around 5:00 p.m., I learned I would go upstairs as soon as a room was ready. I asked if I was going to get a meal. The ER is not set up for in-hospital patients, so no food was ordered. As soon as Angel learned about it, she came in and said she would go to the cafeteria and get me something, which actually tasted pretty good. What an “angel” Angel was! I couldn’t have asked for better care. I eventually made it to a room upstairs with a much more comfortable bed. The following day, I finally went for my stress test and echocardiogram. I flunked my test, and blockages were visible. I was told I would need a cardiac catheterization for further assessment. The procedure took place Wednesday, March 5th, at United Hospital Center in Bridgeport, where I had two stents put in. All went well, and I was discharged the next day.
Wow, God’s protective shade is amazing. From last August until now, He has used so many people to help, pray for, care for, and heal me. Also, from the moment I prayed for His mercy in the emergency room, and immediately an Angel walked into my room, followed by a pastor friend who came to pray for me, my countenance changed on the spot. My worry disappeared, and I began focusing on others, trying to help their day as I knew I was in good hands, His.
I am happy to report that my energy has returned, and I no longer need those one-to-two-hour naps every day to get by. My wife remarked the other day, “You aren’t taking naps like you used to.” Why? Because God’s protective shade got me through a lengthy, difficult stretch and brought healing to my physical heart and wisdom to my spiritual heart. I have learned that God’s protective shade is just one aspect of His extravagant love. I’ve also learned that one way to extravagantly love others, as Jesus commands, is to extend His protective shade to others. We do that by showing kindness, lending a helping hand, showing compassion, and making a difference in others’ lives. If we look around, so many people need kindness; we can be God’s branch of shade to those in need. Thank you, Jesus, for illuminating your command to me one more time: “Love one another, As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
“A new command I give you: Love one another, As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
John 13:34 (NIV)
Would you like to experience God’s protective shade? It is just one of His many blessings, like joy, peace, forgiveness, and eternal life, that He provides to those who accept His invitation for Salvation. What better time than Easter to invite Him into your heart? Maybe you were saved but have fallen away. What better time to invite Him back into your heart and start delving into the basics of the Gospel? Maybe you haven’t totally fallen away, but you’ve allowed your personal desires to replace His. What better time than today to let Him start shining through you again?
As I close this testimony, remember God wants to show His love to all without partiality and bring everyone under His protective shade. This Easter, His extravagantly loving invitation still stands as it did that first Easter morning. It involves choices, though. If you are not saved and desire to have someone extravagantly love you from now and throughout eternity, ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and believe in Him so that you can have everlasting life. Do that with haste and then find a Christian friend or a pastor to ask for their help so you can begin your walk with Jesus. Do that with a willing heart, and you will start the most extravagantly loving journey you can ever imagine. You will become a Child of God and a friend of Jesus, who will send His Holy Spirit to help you, and He will spread His protective shade on you forever. I pray that blessing for you.
Until next time, Godspeed, Al
Feature Images: © Al Tucker; Scripture quotations marked ERV Copyright © 2006 by Bible League international; Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.; Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
