Helene Lavern Frank | WOMAN OF GOD of the week

Eighty-eight years ago today, on November 1, 1925, Helene Lavern Casey was born in Pontotoc, Oklahoma, the youngest of James and Mollie Casey's ten children. When only 11 years old, Lavern was struck with polio, taking away the use of her legs for the rest of her life. In the late 1940s, God providentially brought Lavern and Howard Boone Frank together, and on January 22, 1949, they were married—"Polio Takes a Back Seat to Love." H.B. and Lavern would be married for over 59 years. Despite her polio and her physical pain, Lavern never stopped being a worker for God. Along with daily housekeeping, she raised five children, all while on the mission field. Reaching out to others and spreading the Good News of Christ, H.B. and Lavern lived in the United States, France, and England and visited at least 10 others countries. In 2004, Lavern had a stroke which took away the use of her left arm and affected her vision. But even this couldn't diminish her positive spirit or her constant concern for the needs of others. On June 17, 2008, Lavern went home to her Lord.

My grandma was a remarkable woman of God and someone that I will always greatly admire. Her example of steadfastness in the face of trials has encouraged so many over the years. In December 2001, Lavern wrote a verse in her journal that she called "one of my favorites":

“Praise the Lord, O my soul, He satisfies your desires with
good things
     So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.”

"I am one who should be the most grateful person who ever lived. Though being 'handicapped' with polio . . . God has made 'all things work together for good' for me... the most wonderful husband and family in the world... and a Mansion just over the hilltop."
Lavern Frank