The first time I heard the name Sylvia Hansen I was seated in Fran’s kitchen (my step-grandmother) eating something (which is what you do when you’re at grandma’s house). My mom was chatting with her when I heard something that got my attention: “You could slap Sylvia Hansen across the face and she would calmly ask ‘What’s the matter, dear, are you having a bad day?’”
I had no idea who this “Sylvia Hansen” was, but she sounded magical!
Fast forward to the year 2004. I was the new 4th grade teacher at Fairfax Baptist Temple Academy where Mr. Gil Hansen was the Administrator. Mrs. Sylvia Hansen was on staff serving in the Academy office and teaching a few secondary classes. I didn’t cross paths with her very often, but when I did, the magical name from my childhood always left a lasting impression.
Here are a few lessons learned. I carry them still in my heart from this precious saint:
1-Listen to others respectfully & carefully, especially your spouse. Mrs. Hansen would attend many of the same staff meetings and devotion times that I did. These meetings were often led by her retired Naval Commander husband, Gil. As people do from time to time, Mr. Hansen would occasionally repeat a story. I would look at Mrs. Hansen to see how she responded—if I had previously heard the story, surely, she had heard it dozens of times! Her reaction was always the same…she would listen attentively with the sweetest smile, eyes glued to the face of her beloved.
2-Don’t ask “what can I do to help?” Just tell what you will do to help! As a young, newly married couple, Kyle and I hosted the entire church staff (including Mr. and Mrs. Hansen) in our home for a meal. I was quite nervous. We were the youngest on the staff by more than a decade, and I was still relatively new to the realm of preparing food fully cooked and edible. Several staff wives had called to ask, “what can I bring?” but Mrs. Hansen called to tell me what she was bringing. If I remember correctly, she brought a salad or bread or something that would go along with almost anything that I was making. This eliminated any “extra thinking” on my part and reassured me that we would have at least one edible item at dinner!
3-Take time to remember birthdays and anniversaries. That may sound like a small thing, but Mrs. Hansen took time to send a handwritten card each year to every single person in our church (and it was a big church), for both birthdays and anniversaries. Her handwriting was beautiful, and she would always enclose a short personal note, keeping to this task not only while we were on staff, but also for the long years after we had moved to Kentucky, until her death. It was like a warm hug to open our mailbox and see that familiar handwriting again. The notes helped us to remember we weren’t alone here, and we certainly weren’t forgotten.
4-Who is watching you? It was my dearest joy to have known the beloved person behind the name I heard in childhood. The life Sylvia Hansen lived is a gentle reminder that others pay far more attention to what we do than what we say. There are many more wonderful lessons that Mrs. Hansen passed on to me without ever having to say a word. She lived a meek, quiet life in humble service to her Lord and Savior. She loved her husband and her three sons with all her heart.
A few years ago, she unexpectedly and quietly slipped home to heaven. What a “well done” she must have received! I am forever grateful for the impact she made on my life without ever knowing how much I was learning from her. Her example is a challenge: Who is watching me? Who is watching you? You may never be aware of that “someone” who is looking up to you and learning from your example. Whose life are you impacting today?