Dear
Gerry,
I
have so many sweet memories of you. Visiting
with you in my office. Talking about
your kids and grandkids – you loved them so much. Talking about your job – you were continually
amazed that God could use you at the pharamacy, sharing His love with others. And, of course, talking about loneliness and
how you missed your husband, Bill, who had gone to be with Jesus. Your family tried hard to fill the void but
it still hurt to be on your own.
But the memories I enjoy
the most are connected with the illustrious Bulletin Bunch, you gals who folded
bulletins, stapled newsletters, stuffed envelopes and did whatever else that
needed to be done. Those Fridays were fun
days, weren’t they? I would be sitting
at my desk working when suddenly I would hear the sound of whooping and
hollering and hee-hawing coming out of Room 1.
You and Virginia, Yvonne, Georgie and Elaine got to do an important task
for our church and you ladies had a blast doing it.
One
thing I noticed was that you all talked about everything. No subject was off limits. At times, we men didn’t need to be
around. Yes, you guys talked about
everything and that included the topic of death.
On
day you all were talking about what you wanted your memorial service to be
like. I still wonder how that subject
come up? Anyway, I walked in as Virginia was saying that she wanted her
memorial service to be a celebration.
She was going to be in heaven and it would be a happy place and so she
wanted her family and friends to share her happiness. And I think the other ladies agreed with her.
So,
it was a huge surprise when you said that you hoped that everyone, at your
passing, would be sad and there would be lots of tears. When we pressed you, Gerry, you said that you
hoped that everyone would miss you and that would bring a lot of tears.
Gerry,
to this day I’m not entirely sure that you were serious when you described your
hoped-for funeral. After all, you once
threatened to dance on top of the worktable.
But we do miss you. And there
have been lots of tears shed.
Those
tears began as your health started to deteriorate. It was hard to see you suffer. Your eyes were giving you fits. Getting around became harder and harder. You got frustrated when your memory seemed to
be failing. The last couple of years for
you were difficult to say the least.
Many
more tears were shed during the three last weeks of your life. You were having such difficulty
breathing. It was a struggle. It was hard to watch. Your family hated to see you suffer. It broke their hearts. They wept.
Kleenex came out to wipe away the tears.
Gerry, in those final 12 hours they never left your side. They were there for you. Even in the midst of their sadness, they were
there for you.
Your
church family wept for you too. You’ve
been an important part of Life in Christ for so many years. Yes, you worked with the Bulletin Bunch. But you did so much more, and I doubt that
you even realized it.
The
word “faithful” describes your participation in worship. When you were well you never missed a
Sunday. You found joy in worshiping the
Lord with your church family. You
confessed Jesus as your personal Savior.
You were glad to hear the good news of God’s love for you in His Son. You never tired of hearing that Jesus paid
for your sins at the cross, and in exchange, dressed you in His royal robe of
righteousness. Dressed in Jesus’
clothes, you could be certain that you were holy and right before God and that
there was a place for you in His kingdom of glory.
Yes,
Gerry, you were faithful. The last year
or so it was hard for you to come to church.
But it brought us all so much joy to see you coming Sunday morning with
Dick and Sharon. How easy it would have
been for you to have said, “Oh, I don’t think I’ll be going to church. I hurt too much.” You were tempted to do so and
we all would have understood. But you
came! You heard God’s Holy Word. You
received God’s Holy Supper. You made the
effort, Gerry! It was a powerful witness to us all.
So, on
this day, Gerry, there are tears. And,
we certainly have feelings of sadness.
But these feelings are tempered by something far greater. You are at peace. You no longer hurt. Breathing is no longer a struggle. You rest in the arms of your Savior,
Jesus. So even in our sadness, we have
reason to be happy. And we are.
Gerry,
the next time I see you, my first question will be this – did you see any
Kleenex in God’s kingdom? I’ll bet you didn’t!
We
have so much to look forward to. Jesus
is going to come on the Last Day to judge the living and the dead. Unbelievers will receive judgment. Believers will receive an invitation to join
God in His kingdom.
It
will be amazing, Gerry. God will be with
us. He is going to pitch His tent among
us and we will enjoy His company. The
apostle Paul once wrote that in this life we don’t see things clearly; it’s
like looking in a hazy mirror. But in
heaven, you won’t have any trouble with your eyes, Gerry. Your vision will be perfect, and you will see
God. You probably won’t be able to take
your eyes off Him.
Meanwhile,
there’s not a Kleenex in sight. They aren’t
needed in heaven. God is going to
elimate all the stuff that caused us to cry in this life. We won’t weep over the death of people we
love – no death in heaven. And if there
is no death, there is no reason to mourn, right? Pain can make us cry. We hurt, and we cry out for relief. In heaven, God is going to take that away
from us too. That body of yours that
ached all the time. That body that
caused you to cry the last time I saw You, Gerry. It won’t hurt anymore. No tears – no Kleenex in heaven. None whatsoever.
Jesus
says, “I am making everything new!” This
is a wonderful promise our Savior makes to us.
We all desire to live happy lives.
We all seek an uncomplicated life.
But no one has a problem-free, happy-all-the-time kind of life. We deal with disease and divorce. We struggle with finances or failing health. Jesus once told his followers that they would
have trouble in this world. But then
Jesus said, “I have overcome the world!”
That’s
what Jesus did. For you, Gerry. For me.
For everyone. He defeated death
in His resurrection from the dead. He
defeated sin by paying for it all at the cross and those sins will never be
charged to us again. He defeated the
devil and will put Satan away for good on the Last Day. Everything that threatened our happiness in
this life, Jesus has overcome. And He
shares His victory. His victory is your
victory.
Well,
Gerry, I better close this letter for now.
But I do so with the confidence that I will see you again. We’ll know each other. We might even give each other a big hug. You’ll do the same with your family. Gathered around the throne of Jesus, we will
worship with all our might. Our joy will
have no limits. Happy won’t begin to describe
the feeling of being with Jesus for eternity.
We will be absent of just one thing.
No more tears. No more tears.
Your
friend in Christ,
George
Amen.
