By John Pierce
Whenever the Boynton Baptist Church youth group of my generation gathered — and we gathered often — Glenda Nichols was there. I don’t recall her (or any other adult who engaged with our fun, close group) being called a chaperone.
Glenda was simply an adult who befriended us and gave generously of her time. In fact, she not only tolerated our youthful silliness; she delighted in it. (OK, most of it.)
Whether it was hanging out on weekend nights to play Rook and watch the critically acclaimed “Shock Theater” on TV or having a picnic at Chickamauga Lake, Glenda was there. And if someone had a birthday to celebrate, she would often bring along a red velvet cake.
Glenda would go on retreats with us to Gatlinburg in the winter and to conferences at Ridgecrest in the summer. It is impossible to think about those good, growing years without Glenda being there as supportive and encouraging.
She knew all of our inside jokes and probably laughed at them the loudest. The stories come flowing back as we make plans to gather this Saturday to commemorate and celebrate Glenda’s good earthly journey that ended this week.
When telling family and non-Boynton friends about Glenda, it would be easy to say she was a chaperone for our church youth group. But that does not suffice.
She was our friend. A fun, faithful friend to all of us.
We knew that she cared. And we care as well.
Director of the Jesus Worldview Initiative at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee and former executive editor and publisher at Good Faith Media.
