I had the honor of being part of the celebration of life for a friend this past week. That’s a wonderful sentence to be able to say. I have been part of many, many memorial services, funeral services, and celebrations of life – these end-of-life observances are called by a number of names. But to call such a gathering a celebration of life and have it live up to the name, to my mind, requires an extraordinary person.
My friend was just that – extraordinary in so many ways. As I was preparing for the service and reading the obituary, a specific sentence stood out to me: One of the greatest things in her life was knowing that she led her family to know the Lord.
Could there ever be anything greater that could be said of a person by those who know that person best then, “She led her family to the Lord.” She gave them the only thing that has eternal value.
I knew this woman personally and valued her deeply – she was a prayer partner and prayer warrior for me. That was not a responsibility she took casually. I knew that I could count on her praying for me, the team at NewPointe, and all that NewPointe is in general. She didn’t have to know specifics – she just knew that we needed God’s wisdom, help, guidance, and protection, and we were constantly in her prayers.
Her life verse was this: “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” Psalm 27:13-14 NIV
You might wonder how she was able to lead her family to the Lord. I believe she did it in three ways:
She consistently prayed for them. Their spiritual welfare and their lives were constantly on her heart. She knew things happen when we pray, so she devoted priority energy to that.
She consistently lived a lifestyle of following Christ in front of them. She was who she said she was and who they thought she was. They knew ahead of time where she would be on Sundays, the kinds of things she did with her spare time and money, her habits – all of that. One of the greatest things we can all give the people we love is to make sure they find out no secrets about us because there are none to find. That was and is true of her.
She consistently waited on the Lord to work. She was patient. She waited on the Lord to work without nagging, complaining, and speaking negatively of Him.
Everything in life was not as she wanted it, but she was confident that she would see the goodness of the LORD, not just in heaven, but in life here as well. She was doing what was in her control. She was being consistent, praying, following Jesus, being patient.
She consistently trusted the Lord to do what only He can do – change a heart. She kept a journal for her grandson so he would know what she was learning about Jesus and her fervent hopes that he will love Jesus as she has.
I watched him singing two of her favorite songs during the service: “Firm Foundation” and “The Goodness of God.” He was singing them from the heart. I believe her prayers are being answered.
Never underestimate the power of prayer and the power of an example of what it means to follow Jesus.