Love In The Unexpected

CHAPTER 6

NEITHER death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.   Rom. 8. 38, 39

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God of his great mercy to take unto himself the soul of our sister Nicole here departed, we therefore commit her body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall change our vile body, that it may be like unto his glorious body, according to the mighty working, whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself.

The pastor presiding over the funeral spoke to the mourners once again. “LET not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many mansions.  John 14.1. Let us rejoice that our dear sister Nicole who loved and knew the lord has been called home and now she dwells in one of God’s precious mansions. Let us rejoice for she is in the presence of the Almighty himself. Let us not weep like the hopeless, for we have a hope that hope is founded on Christ.”

Pastor Sherwood stepped forward amongst the crowd. With his voice quivering he declared “God is good. Though we mourn now we shall be comforted. Where do I start to tell you about Nicole?”  He paused and choked on his tears and his tearful wife went to stand with him holding his hand. “Don’t be fooled by my tears, I mourn because I will miss my daughter, yet God has given me the peace to know that it is well. Nicole was the best daughter anyone could have asked for. She was bubbly, full of life and confident. She made her mother and I so proud when at 18 she came to me and said, Daddy I feel that God wants me to go to India to teach little Children English, and spread the word of God. Nicole’s life was not a life lived in vain, she achieved everything God had set out for her and when she finished God called her home and I can imagine God hugging her right now and saying well done my good and faithful child. I’m so deeply challenged by her life; she made a difference in so many people’s lives and brought many to the Lord. She has reminded me of the importance of setting my eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our salvation. We are on this earth to serve and love God, our loved ones also have their own purposes and we should strive to encourage one another. Let us store treasures for ourselves in heaven by focusing on things of God. Let Nicole’s passing be a reminder to us all that we are on this earth for a short time. I know that from this day on I am changed even as pastor I was focusing on things of this world and God has reminded me that we are in this world but not of this world.

Amber stood there amongst other mourners and watched in horror as Nicole’s coffin was lifted to the ground. How could this have happened? Nicole was the only best friend she had ever known and now God had taken her leaving everyone distraught.  She couldn’t grasp what Pastor Sherwood was saying, how he could rejoice at her death. She had heard people whispering “what a beautiful funeral, Nicole would have loved it.” She had to restrain herself from slapping the women who said such a distasteful thing. There was nothing beautiful about this; Nicole a beautiful God fearing woman, Luke’s fiancé, Pastor Sherwood’s daughter, her best friend had died. What good could come out of it? She would understand a bit better if it was someone like her who had died, but not sweet Nicole. Everyone loved Nicole and the funeral was a testament of that. She closed her eyes and wished it could all be a dream. She thought about how she had been jealous of Nicole when she first met her and felt the guilt trouble her soul. There was no good thing left in her life besides her brothers and sisters. She looked towards Luke, and to say he was distraught was an understatement. He had got up to say a few words but his emotions had overwhelmed him to the point his mother had gathered him in her arms and led him back to his seat. She had spoken to him briefly to let him know how sorry she was during the wake gatherings and even then he had barely mumbled a word. She prayed to God that he would be able to face life without Nicole.