An Epitaph
by
Pastor Jack Hayford
Luanne, my sister, went home last Sunday.
Jesus met her at 11:30 in the morning, while I was preaching the
third service on “The God Who Works in the Dark.”
Beside her
bed, just a few blocks from my pulpit, my father and mother had
bowed a few hours before.
Father, she’s Yours. We release her into your hands, in
Jesus’ name.
We had all fought a good fight. No enemy, not even cancer, and
no specter, not even death, could drive out the confident sense
of rejoicing: “All is well! Through Christ our Conqueror,
all is well!”
A dozen stories long to be told, for as I moved through the ensuing
hours I witnessed and experienced one miracle of God’s grace
after another. Oh! The marvel of God’s way … unsearchable
… past finding out …until you’re there by His
leading. And then you discover wisdom, peace, grace, joy, power,
and wonder you've never know before.
I sat with Duane, my brother-in-law, in the mortuary on Monday
morning … helping him with decisions … praying for guidance
on simple and large matters … watching it all flow together…
and then …
“Jack, would you write the wording for the tablet that will
mark Luanne’s grave?”
My pencil scrawled out some thoughts. Words didn't seems enough.
There was too few of them to empty my heart. I finalized a statement
and prepared to read it to Duane and my father, seated across the
room.
First, her name, birthdate, and homegoing date, and then: “Duane’s
faithful wife, Amy and David’s loving mother. She worshipped
the Living God. She glorified His Son Jesus. And she gave herself
to win China for Christ.”
Then I stopped. “No. Wait.” My pencil scratched a hasty
edit, converting the past tense into the present: “She worships
the Living God, and she glorifies Jesus Christ….”
Ah, praise God! To write an epitaph for a graduated saint, you
need to watch your tenses. She’s still worshipping. Oh, how
she’s worshipping Him!
So am I. |
Jack
Hayford Ministries
14800 Sherman Way, Van Nuys, CA 91405-2233