Paste You are the God of all creation. You are the one who is with us in our strength and the one who is with us when our strength fails. We come before you today keenly aware of the fragility of life. But we also come before you knowing that victory over death is ours through the saving grace of your son, Jesus Christ.
As we gather to remember and celebrate Wanda’s life, we ask that your Holy Spirit be here to ease the pain and sorrow of those who mourn her passing, particularly her daughter Michelle, her dear friend Linda, and her wonderful caregiver Lisa.
Let us now celebrate her presence in our lives through word and song.
In the mighty name of Jesus,
Amen.
In the Garden, what a wonderful place of restoration. The garden as described in the song was a place to go and be alone in the presence of the Savior. When Wanda lived in Oceanside in Kahaluu, her apartment looked out over the garden. The calm and peacefulness of the garden was beautiful, but what she could see from her apartment beyond the garden was even more wonderful. Wanda’s view was her place of peace and solitude, the ocean.
The song says in part, “He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own.” The ocean was where Wanda felt most connected to God, His creation and His love. It was a place where she could tell God her deepest darkest secrets, her longings, her fears, her anxieties and a place where she could listen to His voice, feel His spirit and know He heard her prayers. It was there she could feel God whispering his vast love for her as she felt the ocean breeze placing salty kisses on her cheeks.
The ocean was a place of hope for Wanda and like us all Wanda needed the hope offered through God’s word. We don’t know much about Wanda’s life. We know she has a daughter Michelle, grandchildren and great grandchildren and we know when Michelle was around the age of 15 and Wanda was between the ages of 42 and 44 she had a stroke, which left her with slurred speech and some partial paralysis. How frustrating her life must have been. How she needed God’s hope. We don’t know if Wanda knew Jesus at that point in her life or if she came to faith through her hardships.
We do know that when each of us here came to know her, she knew the God of hope and promise. We know that just as the azure seas beckoned her with it’s peace and calm, Jesus, the living water had given her new life. Wanda clung to the hope of that new life and never looked back. She celebrated life and the waves of hope Wanda clung to in her life resonates still. Romans 5: 2-5 says “And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.
That hope born from suffering and perseverance showed on Wanda’s face. I never saw her without a smile. I visited her in the hospital, at a nursing home, many different places, but regardless of her situation she was always smiling. Her smile said, “I belong to God.” Even when she lost her love, Richard, she continued to smile. Even when she was diagnosed with cancer, she continued to smile.
Wanda knew her journey on this earth was temporary. Just as the tides ebb and flow, so does life. She clung to the words of Jesus who said in John 14:1, “Do not let your hearts be troubled, Trust in God. Trust also in me.” Wanda trusted and knew her time on this earth would come to an end.
When the Apostle Paul was approaching his death he said:
" For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing." (2 Timothy 4:6-8)
Paul said, “The time has come for my "departure." The Greek word in this text translates "departure" as a term often used by sailors. It meant a time for the unmooring of a ship. When a ship is unmoored from the land, it is freed to set sail. When a ship would leave the harbor, people would gather at the harbor side and they would watch the ship until it sailed over the horizon.
Have you ever stood looking at the water as a ship sailed over the horizon? When travel by ship was the way people crossed the ocean, as the ship slipped over the Horizon you would see those on the shore waving, sometimes with tears in their eyes and you could hear them say….. there she goes, there she goes. Yet somewhere on the other side of the ocean, there is another harbor and as that ship appears on their horizon … you could hear them say, Here she comes. here she comes.
Wanda was a brave woman. Even though she suffered hardships and heartache, she took a new journey with the God who gave her hope of
a future that is more beautiful than even the ocean itself. Wanda has taken a new journey. Much like that ship I spoke about she too has sailed into a new port, into a new harbor.
The Apostle Paul went on to share these words to the believers gathered in Philippi : " For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; (Philippians 1:21-23)
When Paul wrote this, He was in prison under house arrest in Rome, literally chained to a Roman soldier. Paul was a prisoner and yet his words shout with triumph. His joy would be to be with the Lord, although he also longed to continue to bring others to Jesus.
Wanda lived much of her life a prisoner in a body that was less than perfect and yet she was a vibrant woman who loved prayer and found beauty in not only the ocean, but music, being with friends, looking her best and always with that beautiful smile on her face.
Her life, however in its frailty began slipping away until the day came for this earthly life to give way for one on the other side of eternity… For one in another harbor.
The Apostle Paul struggled with wanting to remain alive and point others to God, and with wanting to die and gain a heavenly reward. For one who believes in Jesus Christ death is entry into a new harbor, death is to gain.
We gain a glorified, immortalized, resurrected body.
Each of us live in these fleshly earthly bodies that in time will wear out. And the time will come for each of us when this earthly life gives way for one on the other side of eternity, for one in a new harbor. Where tears will be no more.
In our present bodies, our fleshly bodies we are subject to all the sorrows and tears that life throws our way, age, disappointments, and infirmities.
And finally, this flesh, this house of clay made of the dust of the earth will pass away. But for the follower of Christ in death we gain a body that can never grow old, never suffers pain, and that will never die.
Jesus said (John 11:25-26), , "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live,
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die."
Followers of Christ do not die. Jesus is crystal clear about this. Christians do not die they simply change their residence. One day we will all un-moor our lines from this earthy harbor, one day we will all finish this race called life.
Wanda leaves a legacy of love for each of you. May we like Wanda always feel the love of Jesus and continually seek to be conformed into the image of Christ and may we continue to cling to the same hope she clung to until the day we finish our journey and our ship sails into eternity so we will hear as did Wanda, our Saviors voice proclaim:
"Well done good and faithful servant.”
Holy Father,
We give you thanks for the life of our dear friend, Wanda Smith. We thank you for those gathered here today to celebrate her. Lord, you saw each of us before we were formed in our mother’s womb. We are fearfully and wonderfully made and all of our days are ordained and written in your book before even one of them comes to be. We thank you for the years that Wanda had even though for so many it was too short a time.
Let us look to you for comfort and solace at her passing, but let us be thankful for her presence in our lives and how she touched each one of us here today. Let us hold her in our hearts an remember the special memories we have of her and we had with her.
Let us remember that she will live forever with you because of your wonderful grace and mercy.
In Jesus name, Amen.
Hymn – How Great Thou Art
Blessing:
And now, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13-14).
your essay in here…