Preacher stuff
That said, I got an email from one of my best friends that confirmed the increasingly likely outcome of the preceding week: his grandmother had passed away.
The note shared brief details of her passing and a request to officiate at her funeral. There was honestly little hesitation on my part: they're a great family that models a kind of sibling closeness that is altogether too rare in our culture and had readily included me in that mix for years. So, I readily consented and started dusting off my preacher skeelz. This is what I came up with.
I heard an unusual sound when I woke up this morning. At first I thought one of my children had left the faucet running, but then realized it was the sound of rain, and lots of it. We can all agree that it has become a foreign sound to us as we have endured a significant drought here in Central Texas. When I stepped outside this morning, the dryness that had surrounded us had been washed away by water that we all asked for, but didn’t pay for and couldn’t command. I’d offer that the love of Jesus is a whole lot like a soaking rain after an extended drought.
As we gather to celebrate Margaret’s life, the rain outside reminds us of our Savior’s love, the savior in whose arms she now rests. If anyone deserves a little rest, it is Margaret. As we heard her biography a bit earlier, it is remarkable to consider just how hard she worked all those years to support her family. At a time when women were expected to be seen and not heard, she was working multiple jobs, raising a family and loving her husband. She was a woman of firm conviction, a strong work ethic and boundless love for her children and their families. The love that she poured into your lives was like that healing rain, because it was strengthened by her quiet faith in God.
Her life is proof that our relationship with God isn’t all about gritting our teeth or holding our breath until the challenges of this earth fall away. In her daily existence, she knew God, just as we can. His comforts are available to us today, every day, if we’ll simply seek him out. We can experience His joy in the things that bring him joy, in the moments of family gatherings, in the efforts we make to help one another, as we acknowledge Him in all our ways. The question, then, is how to move forward from today?
READING: John 15:10-11
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
John 15:10-11
Let us continue to love one another as Jesus loved us.
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