Sisterly love was beautiful to behold this afternoon. Father, may we all live that way, living out Your example. Amen.

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Karen and I had the privilege of taking my parents to the funeral service of my dad’s sister Ruth this past weekend. She was a beautiful person in so many ways!
My dad’s family is close…but we’re not close at the same time. He regularly calls his siblings, all 5 of them. Several of us are on Facebook and interact to some degree. But it all pales in comparison to seeing each other face to face! We live all over the place – Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee (and maybe more?) – and being that at the least original six siblings have all been in pastoral ministry at some point, getting together was challenging. We’ve had reunions but the last one was at least 20 years ago!
As I sat looking over the room where we were gathered after the service, I couldn’t help but think how much loss I had experienced overall. I am grateful that Uncle Stan and Aunt Ruth pastored in Ohio, so I had the opportunity to interact with them a bit more. But even on that front, I hadn’t seen them in quite a while. In later years they had lived in Georgia, then Illinois.
All of my aunts and uncles, and the many cousins I have, have missed out on wonderfully rewarding relationships. None of us did it on purpose, life just happened. Families, jobs, school, church responsibilities, and so many other legitimate commitments have kept us apart.
Being with a handful of them this past weekend was like being limited to one bite of an elaborate smorgasbord. A few hours, short conversations here and there…and it came to an end. What we could learn…what encouragement could be had…what love could be given and returned in like measure…but to our loss, it was not meant to be. Time was not at our disposal…
We mourn our loss, but I think I can honestly say that the world is much the richer! All of us have impacted and continue to impact the world for Christ! All do so in our respective corners. We’ve each lived our lives reaching out and loving others. What a loss the world would have suffered if we had spent our time with each other instead of impacting those in our circle of influence!
Only the Lord knows how many people my Aunt Ruth alone touched! At every church my Uncle Stan pastored, she diligently, with a God-inspired drive, worked to bring others into a deeper relationship with Christ. Many of us strive to follow her example… But in reality, it is not her example we follow but the One that she followed! Early in her life, she chose – she was not forced or coerced – she chose to spend time with her Savior, and oh, the fruit it produced!
As the missionary, Jim Elliot said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone [just one grain, never more]. But if it dies, it produces much grain and yields a harvest. John 12:24 AMP

Lord Jesus, may we, as my Aunt Ruth did, devote our lives to loving You. And as we do so, we can’t help but love others and point them to You as well. Amen.

Mar 15th, 2022, Tues, 7:14 pm