SAY GOODBYE...YOU SAY HELLO

By -
My friend Elizabeth died yesterday.  She was way too young to die, but she did.  I didn't get to know her long, as time is measured, but I feel that in spite of that I got to know her well.  She was beautiful on the outside.  Much more so on the inside.

There are people I've known for years, but never knew as well as I got to know Elizabeth.  She was an open book.  If you let her talk, she would.  She REALLY would.  REALLY.  And she had something to say.

I could write so much, but let me limit my words.  I think two things really define our lives...how we LIVE and how we DIE.  Elizabeth poured 3 or 4 lives worth of living into her short years.  Some people hang around for 100 years, but never do much living.  She proved the adage that it's not so much  the years to your life, as it is the life to your years.  In that sense, she may have outlived us all.

One scene will be etched in my memory: As she lived out her last hours, she did so with her three girls perched on her bed, taking turns reading God's Word to her.  Stuff like that doesn't just happen by accident.  Those things get planted deep in the lives of children by a powerful, godly, loving mother.  Her family is a testament to her life.

Yesterday, it was hard to say goodbye to her.  But, it was easy for her to say hello to Jesus...to leave behind her suffering and the limits of this world and be united with her Savior.  Today, heaven is a even better place.

Comments

  1. concerned citizenAugust 14, 2012 at 10:34 AM

    What a beautiful testimony to a life well lived. I'm sad for the family and for her friends, but I like your last sentence. She will be happy there.

    ReplyDelete
  2. LABAugust 14, 2012 at 1:44 PM

    Thank you Tom - I told my kids I think that things happen sometimes to people like Elizabeth who the world so needs more of, and so you might not understand why the Lord doesn't allow them to stay here longer, that He allows it because we need to know and see how it can be done. What it looks like to trust God no matter what - and how to live life abundantly and how to die with total peace and trust. Someone you know will hear - "Well done, my good and faithful servant". A beautiful example - a beautiful person, a HUGE IMPRINT and an incredible legacy! I know all that and I wasn't even one of her close friends, just someone whose life she touched in a very indelible way.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SHOULD JOHN KELLY APOLOGIZE?

By -
In case you are unaware, Dr. John Kelly is the Superintendent of Schools for Pearland ISD.  Recently, he, and other Houston suburban superintendents were asked about the mandate sent down from President Obama requiring all school districts in America to allow any transgender student to be allowed to use the restroom or locker room, not of their biological sex, but of whatever sex they "identified with".  Here were his comments. " When the Supreme Court re-defined marriage and invented new constitutional rights, the door was opened for re-defining all social norms, now including Executive Branch dictates about bathroom and locker room rules in local schools," he said. "A hostile vocal minority now rules in America aided by an apathetic, unengaged   majority. What's next? Legalizing pedophilia and polygamy? Unless we return to the Biblical basis on which our nation's laws were established, we are in serious trouble — and cannot expect God's con...
Read more

Who's Your Coach?

By -
Ever play on a team without a coach? I have. You know, a church-league basketball team. Softball league. Flag football. It's not exactly the same as the sports experiences you remember from your earlier years. Back in High School, everyone knew exactly who was in charge. Everyone knew who was calling the shots, determining the strategy and calling the plays on gameday. But, even before that, every day you knew who was in charge of practice. And you knew what his purpose was. Sure, to win games, but also, to make you the best player you could be. After all, that's what makes it possible for him to win games. My playing days are over, but recently I got myself a coach anyway. Not to help me with my jumpshot or put a few more MPHs on my fastball, but to help me be a better pastor. For the past six months, I've been part of a coaching network, along with some other pastors from accross the U.S. and a few other countries. We have a coach whose sole purpose is ...
Read more

BUNNIES, BOUNCING & BAIT

By -
Yesterday was the day before Easter. A few months ago, in a moment of insanity or inspiration, I'm still not sure which, I mentioned in a staff meeting that we should rent the local football stadium, hire a helicopter and drop a few thousand Easter eggs out of it. Yesterday we did it...with a few exceptions. We dropped 30,000 eggs. We had 15 inflatables. We had games, face-painting, popcorn & cotton candy. We gave away thousands of dollars of prizes. And it was all free. We really didn't have any idea what to expect. I mean, we'd never done this before. Initially, we thought if 1,000 people showed up it would be a success. Then we reassessed and revised our expectations. We hoped for 1500. I don't know how many people showed up yesterday. I know that after the parking team had parked 5000 cars they quit counting. I know that we caused such a traffic jam in Pearland that the Pearland PD had to dispatch 5 units to handle the traffic backups we c...
Read more