Few Die So Well...A Tribute To My Mom

An amazing passage that I’d never seen in action till now is found in the stark words of Christ to Peter, “I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!" John 21:18-19

Did you catch that…"the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God!" Since January of this year I had the rare privilege of walking with and watching my Mom stare death in the face with unflinching faith. She lived out the promise found in Hebrews 2:14-15…“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”

We talked about heaven (she was studying the book Heaven by Randy Alcorn) and we shared about the attributes of God (as we prayed the Scriptures together from Praying The Attributes of God). But most of all I stood amazed as did my brother Todd and sister Tanya as Mom moved steadily and firmly toward her eternal home in Heaven with the strength and focus of a highly skilled athlete…all I can say is few die so well. Few leave a legacy in life of love, prayer and amazing peace-filled compassion in so many generations…she served the rich, the poor, the old, the young and God produced amazing fruit in every field He sent mom.

Her greatest legacy must be how well she loved Dad. Nothing stands out more to me than that. Her faith was best lived out at home and being right by Dad's side. She modeled prayer, faith and love for God’s Word. In that she was a beautiful shining picture of Christ’s church in response and joyful submission to Christ's leadership (see Eph. 5 for this beautiful picture of marriage). She was and is the bride. She reflected and now even more reflects the beauty of the bride without spot or wrinkle! Her radiance in life and victory in death leaves a legacy for me and my family. Few live so well. Few die so well.

You are invited to join our family in a celebration of Mom’s life on Friday, October 9, 2009 at 1pm at Grace Bible Church in College Station, Texas (Grace Bible Church…Anderson Campus… 700 Anderson Street College Station, TX 77840… Phone: 979.693.2911)