Kara Tippetts-July 1976-March 2015
Photo: unknown

 

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints…Psalm 116:15

I’m not always certain what this Scripture means apart from the ultimate sense in which it is a wonderful blessing for the person who is in Christ, to die and be with the Lord! Some translations use the word “blessed” here, but I love the word “precious.”

One set of notes stated this refers to the way He cares for His people after death. That is certainly comforting to us on this side…to know that He cares for our loved ones as if they are precious to Him…as they are to us! Of course, now Kara is healthy and energized!

That weary look in her eyes that was there in those late photos is gone now. She is free and alive in ways she never was here on earth. I can’t imagine the loss to those who knew her! What a loss!

What a precious gift Kara and her family gave us

But I must say, in the case of the process of Kara Tippetts’  life, death, and dying process, it has been a blessing for a wide portion of the Body of Christ! I’m sure it hasn’t simply been limited to us. I don’t even think it is necessarily something that is to be normative for every Christian who dies…in the sense that we all need to blog, write books, have people in our home during the process, etc.

But for her and her family, given the gifts GOD has given them, her gregarious personality, her amazing writing ability, their deep, grounded love for Jesus, and their willingness as a couple to be so open and vulnerable…this has been an amazing gift to all of us!

Her honesty in the middle of pain and suffering;

her trust in GOD while admitting her fear…

was helpful to hear.

She did not soften the words of the pain she felt at leaving her family and having to trust GOD to care for them! Or freeing her husband to marry again in words, not leaving it unsaid or assumed. Or admitting all the deep fears and sadnesses involved in leaving your family before they have grown…before their story has barely begun!

I was touched by her life as I watched the memorial service today (Saturday). I was moved by the way GOD used this loud, gregarious woman to love others.

Why is it we seem to value quiet, sweetness, shyness and introversion in our Christian women? Yes, they have a place, but so do the women he has gifted in other ways.

Hearing her story at the memorial service was encouraging

I was touched as I heard people speak of the way GOD used her in their lives to show Jesus. They described her as grabbing them and hugging them to herself. I always wished I was more huggy than I am. But I’m not going to worry about it. GOD didn’t make me to be Kara. He made me to be Martha. I am too loud too. Just not as huggy. He can still use me anyway.

The man who gave her eulogy, Matt, mentioned that she didn’t come naturally kind and caring of others. But she did come naturally gregarious! GOD developed the caring in her and used her life with her husband to learn kindness. What a tribute to him and GOD’s work in his life!

It’s always good to know GOD can use people who don’t fit the mold of sweet and quiet, isn’t it? Sometimes, He needs people who are a little blunt, a little loud. Yes, He even uses people who don’t fit the mold.

Isn’t that encouraging?

How have you been encouraged to see GOD use you despite the flaws in your personality, temperament, life experience, habit patterns?

How do you have hope that GOD can use you as you have seen or heard about Kara’s life and heard about the changes He made in her?

Can you trust the work GOD is doing in you? That it will be used for your good and the good of the Kingdom despite the ways you may be very different from her?