Pastor’s wife · Caregiver · Author · Podcaster · Blogger · 87 years old · Still learning · Still growing · In many ways, she’s just getting started.

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Welcome back to Lives That Inspire for the third and final post in our series with the extraordinary Ann Coker. If you are just joining us, I’d encourage you to start with Post 1 and Post 2 — they will make this one land even deeper.

We have sat with Ann through caregiving and grief, through job loss and depression, through the long, faithful work of writing and legacy-building. We have seen the woman who says prayer is her biggest struggle and then quotes four scriptures. We have met Bill — his kisses, his humour, his whispered words in the fog of dementia — and we have felt the weight of Ann and the family, losing him

But today we end where Ann lives right now — in the view from 87. In the small things that still make her smile. In the deep things that have become most precious. In the quiet, remarkable gift of a life that has been fully, faithfully lived.

And we begin — as the best things often do — with laughter.

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Lives that inspire: A simple memory that still makes her smile

Remembering silly things and antics my mother-in-law said and did. Such as when she and her husband came to visit us. When they got off the train, she was still wearing (under her hat) the pink net cover she had worn while taking a nap.

I love that this is what came to mind first. Not a grand moment. Not a milestone. A woman stepping off a train in her pink hair net, completely unbothered. Ann has lived through fourteen years of caregiving, job loss, grief, and widowhood — and what still makes her smile is that. The small, silly, human things. There is an entire philosophy of life in that.

On what she is most proud of — big and small

Big: Getting my husband’s sermons published in books.

Small: Keeping a journal for many years.

Her biggest pride — not her own books, not her own writing, not her career — but Bill’s sermons. Gathered, edited, and released into the world so that his voice might keep speaking long after he could no longer speak it himself. That is love as legacy. That is faithfulness in its most practical and beautiful form.

And the small thing — a journal kept for many years. Quiet. Consistent. Faithful.

On what this season of life has given her

My daily quiet time with reading the Bible and devotional literature has deepened my walk and increased my faith. Even if I doubt God will see me through another challenge, I know He is present and true to His word. My husband and his preaching have been the greatest influences on my spiritual life. Other people have added to my faith journey, either in person or through what they have written. Now that I am older, without much responsibility, and I am a widow, I have time to concentrate on what’s most important. I read and write.

I read and write. Five words. A whole life’s calling distilled into five words. After the children were raised, after the ministry was done, after the caregiving years, after the grief — she sat down at her desk. And she picked up her pen. And she is still there.

“Now that I am older, without much responsibility, and I am a widow,
I have time to concentrate on what’s most important. I read and write.”

Ann coker

On the aspect of God’s nature that has become most precious to her — and the story that goes with it

God’s presence has always (and more now) been precious to me. I appreciate his protection and provision, but I would not want to live one moment without God’s presence. Knowing God is ever-present with me has given me strength and guidance throughout my days.

Several years ago, while working on taxes, I listened to a vocal recording on our stereo. I sensed God’s presence as real, and it gave me assurance that He would take care of our son whose wife had died and left two small children.

God was faithful to do what He promised.

I have deliberately saved this for last. Because this is the most intimate thing Ann shares across all three posts — and it deserves the unhurried space to land properly.

Working on taxes. A vocal recording on the stereo. An ordinary Tuesday, in an ordinary room, doing an ordinary task. And God showed up. Not in a dramatic moment. Not in a church service or a crisis. In the middle of the paperwork. And He brought with Him an assurance — a real, felt, personal assurance — that He would take care of a son who was grieving, and two small children who had lost their mother.

That is the God Ann knows. Not distant. Not theoretical. Not reserved for the grand moments. Present in the ordinary ones. Present in the taxes. Present in the widowhood. Present in the pink hairnet moments, the journal-keeping moments, and the sitting-at-the-desk moments.

That is the view from 87. And it is a beautiful one.

“I would not want to live one moment without God’s presence.”

Ann Coker · 87 years old · Still at her desk

On the one truth she would leave behind

I have adopted the following motto for my life and my work:

“You alone can do this! You cannot do it alone.” This is also expressed in the Bible: Exodus 18:18 and Numbers 11:17.

There it is. After 87 years. After everything. That is what she would leave behind.

And she grounds it in Scripture. Two passages. Both are about Moses. Both about the same truth.

In Exodus 18:18, Moses’ father-in-law Jethro watches Moses trying to carry the weight of an entire nation alone and says plainly — “What you are doing is not good. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.”

And in Numbers 11:17, God Himself speaks — “I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone.”

Even Moses — the one who parted seas and received the Ten Commandments couldn’t do it alone. God never designed us to either. He designed us for community. For shared burden. For the kind of faithful, loving, practical help that Ann herself has both given and received across her 87 remarkable years (so far).

You alone can do this. You cannot do it alone.

Ann coker

Ann Frances Laird Coker. Pastor’s wife. Mother. Editor. Writer. Caregiver. Podcaster. Widow. Contributor to a Bible that has sold four million copies worldwide. Great-grandmother of fifteen — with triplets among them. A woman who has walked with God for over seventy years and will tell you, honestly, that prayer is still her biggest struggle.

She is funny and faithful and clear-eyed and warm. She keeps a journal. She makes greeting cards. She works on crossword puzzles. She sits at her desk and writes. She releases Bill’s voice into the world, week after week, because she believes it still has something to say.

She is not a famous person. She does not seek the spotlight. She is exactly the kind of person this series exists to honour — a faith giant who largely flies under the radar, whose wisdom deserves to be heard, whose life makes this world a far, far better place.

Ann — thank you. For saying yes. For sharing so honestly. For being exactly who you are. It has been one of the great privileges of this series to sit with you.

The view through your eyes is something very special.

And to every reader who has followed Ann across these three posts — thank you for staying. This is what Lives That Inspire is all about. Ordinary people. Extraordinary lives. Wisdom worth carrying.

This is the third and final post in the Ann Coker series. The Lives That Inspire series continues — there are more extraordinary people still to meet. You can find post one and post two in Ann Coker’s: Lives that inspire interview.

A Little More About Ann

ANN L. COKER is the widow of Bill, former pastor and professor. Ann received a BA in English from
Asbury College, Wilmore, KY, 20 years after graduating from high school in Mobile, AL. She is the
author of Journey with Bunyan’s Pilgrim, and a contributor to The Woman’s Study Bible. She has served
in three pro-life agencies. She continues to compile her husband’s messages for publication. Currently,
Ann lives in Indianapolis, Indiana, with her married daughter and husband. The Cokers have four
children, ten grandchildren, and fifteen great-grandchildren. Ann’s hobbies are making greeting cards,
reading, sewing, and working on crossword puzzles.

You can check out Ann’s books, or connect with her and her rich material, below.

An Honest Caregiver: Facing the Reality of My Husband’s Dementia

Journey with Bunyan’s Pilgrim: A Companion Guide for The Pilgrim’s Progress
Ann blogs at abcoker.blog  ·  Contact: al2.coker@gmail.com  ·  Facebook: Ann Coker  · 

Listen to Words of Endearment with Bill Coker on the podcast

Ann’s story is just the beginning.
The Lives That Inspire series is gathering the voices of some of the most quietly extraordinary people I know — faith giants who largely fly under the radar, whose wisdom deserves to be heard, whose lives make this world a far, far better place.
There is someone else coming. Another life worth sitting with. Another story worth carrying.
If you’d like to be the first to know when the next Lives That Inspire guest is shared — and to hear about what this series might yet become — I’d love to have you along for the journey.
Yes, keep me in the loop ↗