“Devera has gone to be with the Lord.” Two weeks ago, a friend's voice on the telephone immediately transported me back in time to July 2002, to a country that is literally miles away in distance and culture. It was Papua New Guinea, where I had met Devera very briefly.

Then last week, while I was travelling in Western Canada, an email came through from Illinois: “My grandfather, Lloyd, has been promoted to Glory.” This time memories came flooding back of the several occasions I had met Lloyd during the last 30 years.

Devera was 42 when she died; Lloyd was 93. Their lives were lived in two completely different worlds, yet they had one outstanding characteristic in common: the generosity and grace of God.

I have just one snapshot of Devera. She was a newly-commissioned captain when I met her. One of her legs had recently been amputated due to gangrene, and she moved with great difficulty on a pair of crutches. It was Friday night, and my husband and I had shared in an exuberant praise meeting in Port Moresby, where Salvationists from several corps had gathered for a regional meeting. They were dressed in traditional PNG clothing; the men in bright shirts and the women in colourful, uniquely-styled 'meri' dresses.

After the celebration we gathered in the courtyard of the hall for a cup of tea. People were mingling freely, but Devera found it easier to sit on a low wall. I joined her for a chat, and as we talked, I admired her dress.

The following morning, unknown to me, and despite her handicap, she visited a local market, purchased material and spent the rest of the day using skills recently learned to make a 'meri' dress for me on a portable sewing machine. At ten o'clock that night, she telephoned the friend with whom we were staying to find out how she could get the dress to me, since she knew I was leaving the next day. I was speechless. What but the spirit of God could have motivated her to go to such lengths for a woman who was simply passing through?

I have several memories of Lloyd, whom I met, with his wife, Dorothy, soon after Robert and I had arrived in Canada with our two young daughters. I had become a member of the Pathway Players and was visiting the Dearborn Heights Corps with the group. I was billeted with them and we clicked immediately, despite the age difference. They invited us to bring the girls for a weekend and we accepted.

They really understood kids! They became like surrogate grandparents to them, and have been faithful in their interest through all the years that have followed, despite the many comings and goings on our part. Last July, Robert and I attended their 70th wedding anniversary celebration. It was wonderful, and all the more special because although Dorothy was fit and well, Lloyd's health had been failing for several years and there were concerns that he might not make it to the big day.

A large crowd gathered, from teenagers right through to people a generation older than ourselves. The one theme that sounded throughout was of the faithful interest in, and unsung generosity to, the many, many people who had crossed their paths throughout their married life, despite the fact that Lloyd had to spend much time confined to a wheelchair in more recent years.

Two very different people, but were they really worlds apart? No, for they were both members of one world or, to be more precise, one Kingdom. Their lives were accurate reflections of the King. Their example has challenged me afresh to ask God to keep on transforming me until I become a more accurate reflection of the generosity of the King. How about you?

Colonel Gwenyth Redhead is a retired Salvation Army officer. She and her husband, Robert, have held a wide variety of appointments in the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand. However, her passion has always been to encourage others in creative responses to God through writing of scripts, stories, articles and lyrics (mostly to Robert's music). She has two daughters, Joanne and Corinne, and rejoices that they, too, use the creativity God has given them in ministry.