A Positive Word for Christian Lamenting. William Powell Tuck

I was a young child,

      I always took your love as if it was mild.

      God gave me strength to love and to care;

      It took twenty years to even take that dare.

      It is you who has taught me this right.

      It is you who I will thank every day, every night.

      If you ever have a problem that you’re unsure about,

      Please let me know, God will give me

      the power to help you out.

      Christ Present in Illness and Death

      Second, Christ stood with Janice in her illness and death. For three years Janice struggled with cancer. During this time, she did not complain, but was patient with her family and those who waited upon her. Just as a small child walking with a parent in a fierce storm will lift up her hand into the hand of the parent for comfort and support, so Janice lifted up her hand in quiet trust into her Lord’s hand. During the course of her illness, Janice had a strong spirit. She expressed on numerous occasions that she was not afraid of dying. She had a quiet trust and a strong faith. She said that she knew that, “The Lord is with me. I have an inner peace during this time.” This inner peace came from the powerful presence of the spirit of Christ who stood with her and strengthened her.

      Among Janice’s Sunday School lesson notes and Bible, I found this poem which she had kept by Helen Steiner Rice; entitled “What More Can You Ask?” It affirms something of her faith and trust.

      God’s love endureth forever —

      What a wonderful thing to know

      When the tides of life run against you

      And your spirit is downcast and low...

      God’s kindness is ever around you,

      Always ready to freely impart

      Strength to your faltering spirit,

      Cheer to your lonely heart...

      God’s presence is ever beside you,

      As near as the reach of your hand;

      You have but to tell Him your troubles,

      There is nothing He won’t understand...

      And knowing God’s love is unfailing,

      And His mercy unending and great,

      You have but to trust His promise —

      “God comes not too soon or too late” ...

      So wait with a heart that is patient

      For the goodness of God to prevail —

      For never do prayers go unanswered,

And His mercy and love never fail.1

      Christ Continues to Offer Strength

      Third, Christ now stands with the family and friends to strengthen and support you today. You know that you are not alone. Christ is there with Dan, Dan Jr., Karen, and Layne. He is also with her mother, father, the three grandchildren, and the many friends. We know that life will be different now without Janice, but we know that she would want you to go on and live life to its fullest.

      During this time, you have felt the support of your friends and church family through the meals, prayers, visits, and listening. You have felt the strength of God to guide and comfort you. God will continue to be there with you to support you. You know that you are not alone.

      Christ Opens the Door to Life Beyond

      Fourth, Christ stands with Janice now in her heavenly home. Janice leaned back in faith, and has gone to that place that Christ has prepared for her. Today, we affirm that death is not the end, but a beginning; death is not a dead-end, but a door that opens to a new and abundant life. Death is really a birthing from this life to the next life. We acknowledge that suffering and pain are real, but her suffering and pain are over. She now has a new spiritual body free of pain and suffering.

      In the fall of the year, as the leaves drop off the trees, the trees seem to be bare. But, there are dormant buds on the trees which indicate life. Life continues to go on. And, in the springtime of the year, we will see the new life as it continues. God has built it into nature itself, and He has built it into our lives as well. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Because I live, you will live also.” We affirm our faith today, that Janice is now gone to that heavenly home that Christ has prepared for her.

      A mother was walking with her daughter on the beach one day. They were talking about life and death. They found a shell of one of the departed sea creatures. The mother reached down, picked up the shell, and said to her daughter, “You see, this shell is now empty. The animal within it has departed, but it is still alive, still out there. One day we will come to the point where we will lay down our body. Our body is our shell, but the spirit, which is the true person, will continue to live on. We will leave our bodies and go to dwell in that eternal home that God has made for us. At some point our physical body will wear out. We will lay it aside and put on the spiritual body that God has given to each of us.”

      The family asked if I would share with you a poem entitled “The Legacy,” which they feel presents some of their feelings and the love they had for Janice.

      When I die, give what is left of me to children.

      If you need to cry, cry for your brothers walking beside you.

      Put your arms around anyone and give them what you need to give me.

      I want to leave you something, something better than words or sounds.

      Look for me in the people I have known and loved.

      And if you cannot live without me, then let me live on in your eyes,

      your mind and your acts of kindness.

      You can love me most by letting hands touch hands

      and letting go of children that need to be free.

      Love does not die, people do.

      So when all that is left of me is love...

      Give me away ...

      (Author unknown)

      Gracious God, as we come to this moment of saying good-bye to Janice, may we remember that You are here with us to strengthen us and hold us up. We pray Your blessings upon Dan, Dan Jr., Karen, and Lucy. May they feel the continuous embrace of Your love as they walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Open their eyes to the abundant life, and life everlasting which we have through Christ, our Lord. May they lean upon You for strength and help, and have the assurance that death is not the end, but the beginning of a new and abundant life. Through Christ, our Lord, we pray. Amen.

      1 Helen Steiner Rice, “What More Can You Ask?” Helen Steiner Rice, Just for Me (Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1967), 38.

      2: A Homily

      for

      Myrtle Bates

      (A Lengthy Illness)

      “Through the Shadows”

      Psalm 23

      The Twenty-Third Psalm is the favorite of many people. This is indeed a wonderful Psalm. Phillips Brooks, one of the great ministers in America years ago, described this Psalm as “the nightingale of the Psalms.” He ascribed it as such because the nightingale sings its sweetest when the night is darkest. As a family you have come to the dark moment of grief because your loved one, Myrtle Bates, has died. The shock and grief of her death have forced family and friends to walk through the shadows of the valley of death.

      The Lord Is My Shepherd

      The Twenty-Third Psalm, however, offers us great help and support. It begins with a strong affirmation, “The Lord is my shepherd.”