"I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from whence shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever."

PRAYER

Our Father, we come before you on this occasion acknowledging that you are the help and strength of all who put their trust in you. You are the Maker of all things. Time and the destinies of men and women are in your hands. We bow to your greatness and sovereignty. We ask that you would comfort and strengthen those here today who mourn the passing of this one they loved. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

POEM

If I can leave behind me here and there
A friend or two to say when I am gone
That I had helped to make their pathways fair,
Had brought them smiles when they were bowed with care,
The riches of this world I'll carry on.
If only three or four shall pause to say,
When I have passed beyond this earthly sphere,
That I brought gladness to them on a day
When bitterness was theirs, I'll take away
More riches than a billionaire leaves here.

OBITUARY

(Read at service but not included in this manuscript.)

REFLECTIONS

(Names changed to protect identities)

I did not know Monica personally but I did have the opportunity to visit with a few members of her family several days ago and they described a dear lady that I wish I could have known.

By her own choice, Monica was affectionately known as "-------" to her nieces and nephews. She was emphatic about not being called "---." Of course her siblings were fond of using just that name in order to tease her in a loving way. A lady meticulous about her personal appearance, Monica kept, in the words of her mother-in-law, "a house where you could safely eat off the floor." Monica was kind and good to all the people around her. "If ever there was anyone who was not a gossip," several family members said, "that was Monica."

Monica had a great fondness for animals all the way from Brandy the Pomeranian to the 4H cow she made into a pet. Such was apparently, the fate of any animal that came close to her (becoming a pet, that is.) That cow, I'm told, would come especially to her when she called it by name.

Monica was a "people person" as well as being an animal lover. In the three short weeks she worked at -------, she had already made a handful of friends. Considerate, kind, loving, giving, always with a smile - these were just some of the words used to describe Monica's personality.

I asked her family on Thursday to give me one story they remembered that might characterize a happy time they spent with Monica. They gave me two words that apparently have quite a bit of meaning to her immediate family. The words were "Lemon Chicken." For those of you not familiar with the significance of those words as I was, they refer to a time when Monica made a new dish, Lemon Chicken, for dinner. Of course the entire family was invited. With dinner on the table, visions of culinary delight on each face, they began to eat, only to discover, one at a time, that there was far too much "lemon" in the Lemon Chicken. No one was willing to respond when Monica asked how the meal was. Of course the puckered faces told the story which has never been forgotten. Neither did the teasing stop - which was a testimony to her good sense of humor and willingness to laugh at herself along with others. Actually Monica loved to cook and try new things and was, I'm told, quite good at it.

Some of the fondest memories some of us with siblings have are those years growing up together. Again I asked the family members present to share a remembered event of their childhood. To this day, I was told, no one has admitted who it was who put the baloney in the sugar bowl. A round of spankings did not bring the truth to the surface. Neither did the positive approach, which involved a trip to get ice cream. Mike said he was sure it was Dick but you have to wonder why he had that smile on his face. As it stands today, still no one has confessed and apparently the truth is known only to the perpetrator and to God.

Mentioned also was that Christmas eve when one of the five children, mischievously out of bed and spying on what was under the tree, managed to knock over five brand new Schwinn bicycles in a noisy incident that upset the Christmas tree and woke the parents.

Monica was a big fan of Martha Stewart, the TV and magazine personality. "Martha Stewart Living" was never missed and neither were the regular issues of her magazine. Of course that indicates a fondness for flowers, gardening, decorating, and the like - an interest that her well ordered home reflected.

One of the great gifts God has blessed us with is the gift of memory. We can relive volumes of happy times simply by tuning to the right channel in our minds eye. A sound, a smell, even a story like the ones that I have been telling you can unleash a flood of precious remembrances of good times we've had together. I've shared a few with you that were shared with me. I'm sure most of you have many more. Since this is a memorial service, and we're remembering, if anyone would like to share some treasured memory that you have that involves Monica, we'd be happy to hear from you at this time. You need not stand up or come to the front. Just speak from where you are.

(Sharing)

Thanks for sharing.

SERMON: In Everything, Give Thanks

We read in the New Testament book of First Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 18,

"in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

While such a verse probably at first seems inconsistent with this occasion, please allow me to challenge your thinking for a few moments to focus on some things you can be thankful for, even on this occasion of grieving.

I know it is difficult to thank God when your heart is breaking, when one with whom you shared so much in life is taken. Yet, there are some things, even in the agony and loss of death, for which we can be grateful.

1. We Can Be Grateful That We Have the Capacity to Mourn.

I know that sounds strange when you first hear it, but when we mourn, it means that we have lost someone worth mourning.

Every day people leave this life with no one to mourn them - perhaps through their own doing or maybe because no one cared about them. You mourn today because you loved this one who has passed and because she was worth loving.

It is not wrong to mourn. Students of the Bible know that God encourages mourning. The Scripture says that Abraham, who is called the friend of God, went to bury his wife Sarah and "to cry and mourn for her." At the death of Moses, God set aside a period of time for the Israelites to express their sorrow. Jesus stood with Mary and Martha at the grave of his friend and their brother, Lazarus, and wept.

Even in mourning we can thank God that someone entered our lives and left such an emptiness that we sorrow over the loss. There is a false sophistication that says, "If we let no one get close enough to hurt us, we will never have the heartbreak of loss. Loving makes us vulnerable, so we'll never love." But never to love is never to live. It is merely to exist. To have loved, even when you have lost the one you have loved, is to have known life at it's richest and deepest. Tennyson was right when he said, "It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

Please be reminded in your mourning that you have something to be thankful for. During her time with you, Monica got into your hearts in a special way and became worth your loving and your mourning.

A second thing we can be thankful for even in a time of mourning is that:

2. Death, As Nothing Else, Helps Us Realize What Is Ultimately Valuable.

We are easily confused about what is valuable in this life. We evaluate people by whom and what they know, where they live, what they drive, or what they wear. These things all have some value and signify a certain amount of accomplishment. In the long run, though, they fail to give us lasting contentment. A wise person will realize that the things that really matter most in life are the relationships he or she has with those around. Many men and women have come to the end of life accomplished, but friendless. They reach out, but find that there is no one there who really cares. You, the friends and family of Monica, have chosen to value the important thing - the relationship you had with this one you loved. Because you valued her, you elevated yourselves.

A third thing we can be thankful for even in the loss of death is that:

3. It Makes Us Realize the Limitations of Time.

Time is so precious that God gives it to us just one second at a time, without promising the next. He has given none of us immunity from physical death. Life is a gift from God and should never be confused with entitlement, lest we become bitter when the same God who gave it chooses to remove it from this place.

Death forces us to acknowledge that time has a boundary, a limit. If we didn't realize that it is possible to "run out of time," all of us would put off the things that are important in life. We would always be "waiting for tomorrow" to express our love and appreciation to those who are really important to us. We would put off saying we're sorry for the times we have wronged those we should love. And most distressingly, we would put off planning and preparing for our own encounter with death.

If there is someone to whom you need to express appreciation, the limitation of time instructs you to do it now.

If there is someone you have wronged, time limits suggest that you should make it right while there is still time.

If you need to make peace with your Maker, the limitations and uncertainties of time instruct you to do it before the opportunity gets away.

Finally, we can be thankful even in a time of loss because:

4. Some Things Remain.

I have already mentioned it briefly, but memory remains. God gave us the gift of memory so that we can have roses in December and snow in July. At times when we feel lonely, we can sit back and recall the happy companionship we have had with a true friend or loved one in times past.

Hope also remains. God has given us the blessed hope that if we have made peace with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ, we can have eternal life to spend with loved ones that have made the same peace.

And of course, God remains. We talk about endings, but He talks of beginnings. We talk about death, but He holds forth the prospect of resurrection. We see death as termination. He sees death as a way station along the tracks headed for eternal life. For the one who has made his or her peace with God, death is not the end, but the beginning of a new and endless existence where there is not trouble or pain.

Conclusion

Because times of mourning remind us that some things are worth mourning. . .

Because death, as nothing else, helps us realize what is ultimately valuable. . .

Because death reminds us once again of the limitations of time. . .

And because God has left us with much that is still ours even when we lose someone we love. . .

It behooves each one of us to take stock of where we are and where we are going and make peace with God through Jesus Christ while there is yet time...

May God comfort all of you in your loss. May his face shine upon you and lead you into His eternal dwellings forever.

MUSICAL SELECTION: by soloist

PRAYER:

Gracious Heavenly Father, we believe that You watch over Your creation, wisely and lovingly caring for all things from the greatest to the least - that not even a sparrow that falls to the ground escapes Your notice and care. We now this one that has been loved by us to Your keeping. We pray and believe that You will do what is best. As we go from this place, may your blessing go with us. May your grace and peace and comfort surround us. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

This will conclude our service today. May God bless each of you.

MUSICAL SELECTION: by soloist