God's Prayer Warrior

 What does a prayer warrior look like? Meet my friend Ann Young. She is 98 years young. Ann measures four feet six inches tall with sparkling blue eyes, a warm smile and always perkily dressed with a matching bow in her hair. Her chair is surrounded by Bibles, devotionals, a dictionary, note cards, magnifying glass, sermon tapes, radio, yarn, and knitting needles - all of them well worn. One of her favorite scriptures you'll often hear her exclaim is Psalm 118:24: "This is the day the LORD has made let us rejoice and be glad in it". Her daughter, Barbara, states, "Ann never gossips or complains. She always tries to see the good in everyone". She radiates love and concern for others through a constant prayer vigil.

Ann is the daughter of William James Parker and Mary (Wallace) Parker. She was born in Belfast, Ireland, where her paternal grandfather was a sexton in the Presbyterian Church. In 1909, when she was only twelve months old, Ann's brave mother brought her and her older sisters, Martha and Violet, on a long sea and land voyage to join their father in Flint where he had come to find work at Buick. Two brothers, Ed and Wallace, were born after the family arrived in the United States.

Ann and her family attended First Presbyterian Church of Flint. Ann remembers attending Sunday school as a child in a niche in the old sanctuary. From these early lessons, Ann recalls the teachers saying "Always be truthful and love the Lord". Ann's mom spent quiet time in Bible study and taught Ann the importance of prayer. Her parents prayed on their knees by their bed at night.

After attending Flint Central High School, Ann began working at Buick. While walking in Burroughs Park one day, she met Paul Sheldon Young walking out with a friend of hers. About a week later Paul asked Ann for a date. After dating for a short while, Paul's step-mom died, and his father moved some of his family to a farm in Pennsylvania. Two years later when his dad died, Paul moved to Pennsylvania to help his brother. Tragedy and separation brought Ann and Paul closer together, and he proposed to Ann in a letter. (She still has the letter.) One week after Paul obtained her parent's permission more formally, they were married in First Presbyterian Chapel on May 2, 1931. Ann and her husband began their married life on the farm in Cochranton, Pennsylvania.

Soon, the depression hit, and Paul and his brother lost the farm. Search for work took Paul and Ann first to Pittsburgh, then Chicago, Flint, Flushing, Port Huron, and finally back to Flint after WWII. Their red-headed daughter, Mary Ann, was born in Pittsburg in December 1933. Their daughter, Barbara, was born in June 1936 in Chicago. The girls brought joy to Paul and Ann and she thanks God for these blessings. Ann and her mother corresponded with letters nearly daily throughout this period of separation from home and family. There wasn't email in those days. Ann's brother, Wallace, was killed in Bari, Italy during the war. Ann remembers her mother writing letters to the families of all the crew who died with her brother, foreshadowing Ann's own letter writing ministry today to those who suffer.

In 1954, while Ann and Paul attended church at First Presbyterian, the odor of newly painted walls made Paul sick. They left the service, and as soon as Paul got in the car he slumped over the steering wheel and died of a heart attack. Ann needed to talk to someone. She turned to God to help bear her grief because she knew He would understand. She drew on her memories of her mother and father in prayer. and of the Bible lessons of those early childhood Sunday school teachers.

This tragic event led Ann into a closer personal relationship with her Lord, as well as making her a more independent person. She had to face things she had never done before like learning to drive, living alone, and going to work at the McNally Buick Dealership in Flushing. For twenty years through rain, snow, or sunshine Ann went to work. She learned to trust God to guide her. She participated in a Serendipity Class taught by Kitty Throop and a Monday Bible class taught by Donna Andrews. Daily Bible studies became a critical part of her life. This process of developing her relationship with Christ led Ann to her calling to be the prayer warrior for others that she is today.
Ann infectiously bubbles over with joy today. You don't have to be around her very long to sense her peace, hope, joy and gratitude, and most importantly, her faith in our Lord. Ann writes notes of encouragement and appreciation to people in her life and people she doesn't even know. Ann incessantly knits gifts for the "Mitten Tree" at First Presbyterian Church. She has participated in "Living Prayer" at the church, as well as the American Cancer Society. Ann gets up every day and devotes a "good hour" to her prayer and devotions. She intercedes for people by name. She prays for comfort for widows and widowers long after their loved ones have passed on to the Lord. Her devotional time includes singing hymns of praise in her head, such as: "God is so good; God is so good, God is so good. He's so good to me"; and He has been good she proclaims boldly. She is not fearful for the good Lord is with her. She trusted in the Lord to care for her physically challenged daughter, Mary Ann. Her grand children know she prays for their everyday needs and that prayer is important to her. Her prayers are important to all the saints of First Presbyterian. Ann enjoys watching the beauty of God's creation through the activities of the birds that nest near her back door.

From this author's perspective, Ann is responding to God's call for the needs of His people by confidently praying without ceasing. As I've experienced seeing Ann's joy, it shows her close walk with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. She lifts me up and everyone else who comes in contact with her.

Mary Ann Millard, Ann's daughter, died on August 5, 2007.

Ann Young