In yesterday's mail we received the funeral bulletin for a dear friend of ours, Lois Holscher. Lois, and her husband, Ed, were members of Island Lutheran, when we served the Hilton Head Island church from 2011 to 2014.
Lois and Ed were faithful worshipers. They drove 50 minutes from Savannah, Georgia to our campus on the Island. They appreciated our Law/Gospel proclamation of God's Word and enjoyed digging through the Bible with us during Sunday morning study. Ed carried one of the biggest Bibles I've ever seen. It was chock full of notes, study sheets, pieces of articles he'd found on different texts plus family pictures and mementos. It was amazing!
At Life in Christ we have a couple, Sharon and Dick Mefford, who do a fantastic job of greeting people before and after worship each week. I can't tell you the number of times I've had visitors tell me how much they appreciated the warm greeting they received from Sharon and Dick.
Lois and Ed did the same for us at Island Lutheran. Ed was usually the spokesman but they did this important task as a team. Their warm greeting and sincere interest made a great impression on visitors and it made my job easier when I got to them. Lois and Ed cared for people and wanted to do all they could so that more and more people would get to know the forgiveness and salvation of Jesus.
The Holscher's also cared for Sherri and me. They went out of their way to spend time with us. After everyone had left the church, Lois and Ed stayed to visit and see how Sherri and I were doing. They were interested in Sherri's work as a nursing professor at the community college in Beauford. They also understood well the pressures that pastors labor under so they were always checking on me, wanting to know how I was doing and how they could pray for me. We went out to eat with them a number of times but not one time was I able to pick up the check. Ed always managed, one way or another, to pay for our meals. His generosity seemed unlimited.
We stayed in touch with Lois and Ed after I took the call to be pastor of Life in Christ. In November of 2005 they came out to Peoria to join us for my youngest daughter's wedding. When I was invited to speak at Island Lutheran's 25th anniversary in 2009, we were able to have lunch with the two of them. We had heard that both of them had experienced some major health issues. But at lunch Lois and Ed were the same warm and friendly folks that we'd always known.
In the last few years Lois and Ed moved to Wichita, Kansas to be closer to their daughter, Cindy. Worship continued to be a priority and although they were no longer very mobile, their prayer lists were extensive. Just 10 days after her 90th birthday, the Lord Jesus came for Lois, took her by the hand, led her through the valley of the shadow of death, and to God's kingdom to rest.
But one grand, glorious day to come, Lois' soul will be reunited with a new, glorified body and she will be raised to life. She'll be reunited with Ed and family and friends and the saints of God, those who died trusting in Jesus alone for life and salvation. Sherri and I will see Lois and we will gather around the throne of God and the Lamb to give our unending glory and praise. Until then, rest in Jesus, Lois. We loved you and won't soon forget you.
