LASTING BLESSING

Tuesday February 15, 2011 my mother went home to be with the Lord.  She was 83.  My family and I grieved as all families do when a loved one passes on.  However through the grief we were able to rejoice over Mother’s life and legacy.  As we stood around her and watched her take her last breath we said our final words of goodbye until we meet again on the other side in Heaven.  With tears streaming down my face I said, “We’ve been blessed.”  My family and I have truly been blessed by the lives of my father and mother. 

The Bible says in Revelation 14:13, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”   “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”   I am blessed because the deeds of my mother follow her.  She has left a legacy that will influence me forever.  Her blessing upon my life is lasting.  The testimony of life, her commitment to the Lord, her faithful witness to Him, her Christ-like character, and her journey of ever increasing faith – all has impacted me in such a way that the way I go about life is forever affected. 

During the memorial service I had the blessing of singing a hymn, “The Solid Rock”, with my two sons Josh and Andrew.  I was blessed to be able to sing “Rise Again”, because of Jesus’ resurrection and my mother’s salvation through faith in Jesus, knowing that she would one day rise again with a new body.  I was blessed to give a eulogy recounting some of the stories we remember as a family and how she has influenced her family to “trust and obey” the Lord.  I was blessed by the pastor who gave the message and encouraged us in God’s truth.  I was blessed by the gracious outpouring of family and friends and spiritual family who served us with prayers, hospitality, kind remarks, heart-warming memories, and food. 

How will you live your life so that it blesses others, even long after you’re gone?  What impact for Christ will you make on others?  What deeds, words, actions from your life will follow after you? 

“One life will soon be past.  Only what’s done for Christ will last.”