photo: © Hongqi Zhang (aka Michael Zhang) | Dreamstime.com
This past Sunday was Mother’s Day. It was the beginning of some new traditions for us.
We now live in the same town as one daughter and her family. We had them over for lunch after church. It was fun. It seemed so normal…to have your child and her husband and granchildren over for Mother’s Day. What fun!
But our church service was a little different that day too. The first weekend we were in town, our pastor, Jean Larroux’s mother passed away. It turns out, she was only a year older than I am…you know, young! I was surprised to learn that he is the age of my oldest daughter. I thought he was a little older than that. But I digress…
Our Pastor’s Mother Eulogized in the Context of the Gospel
Mother’s Day was the first Sunday he was back in the pulpit after his mom’s funeral and death. He and his sister did a number of unique things including having a barbeque party in her honor locally to celebrate the fact that she is now alive in heaven. The funeral was out of town.
Together, they wrote quite an unusual obituary that was very tongue-in-cheek with lots of inside jokes for family and friends. They discovered that they could put her obit in the New York Times online paper for free, so they did…and it went viral!
I’m telling you a bit about this as background because I’m going to give you a link to the Mother’s Day sermon he gave. It was certainly a touching and humorous tribute to his mom…but more than that, a down-to-earth reminder of what the gospel means when we are staring death… and loss, in the face.
Please make time to listen to it. You will be encouraged. The specific ways this family dealt with their loss may not be your cup of tea…but the touching part in the end was that during this time of loss, of deep, soul scarring loss, the encouragement of the Gospel is true. Her life is just beginning!
Is it because of the great life she lived? NO. It is because of the grace of GOD. It is because Jesus died for her, in her place. Because she accepted His gift of salvation by faith. It is because she was “in Christ.”
Here is the link. Click on the May 12, 2013 sermon.
An Editor Eulogizes His Admitedly Difficult Mother
Then today, I read an editorial by Marvin Olasky, Editor in Chief of WORLD magazine. It was definitely a different take on a Mother’s Day memory. But once again, it was challenging and in a strange way it was also encouraging. I’ll pass the link on to you. Read it…particularly if you have had a difficult mother.
You will find yourself being encouraged as you think that what GOD is doing is bigger than you know. We know some of what He is doing, but there are still too many mysteries…too many unanswered questions. We just have to leave them with GOD and wait.
