Grace 's Inextinguishable Light

For the last two and a half years, I’ve been taking a few hours each week to reflect on what God has done in my life and then write about it in 500-750 words or so to share with you. Often, I begin thinking about it on Thursday and by Sunday afternoon – I have a good idea of what I’m going to share. This week, I had in mind what I was going to write and then I went to church Sunday morning and I was so touched by what I saw there, I had to put aside the original idea. I hope and pray that you will bear with me if this is not like my other blogs.

This morning at church, we watched on as a young couple brought their beautiful baby girl forward to be baptized. The Elder presenting them to the church family was the baby’s grandmother. Their extended family was sitting up front to share in that wonderful moment when this precious child became a member of the body of Christ and of our church family. It was a joyous occasion. And yet, it was also bittersweet because after church, I knew the family would be heading to the funeral home where the baby’s great-grandmother was laid out for visitation.

Grace, who was 93 years old when passed away on Friday, was the epitome of her name. While I’m sorry to say that I didn’t know Grace well, I’d spoken with her a few times over the years as she was also our church’s secretary for the longest time. She was a humble, grace-filled, lovely woman who, among other things, was our church baseball team’s biggest fan. She’d been a long-time member and had raised her many children in the church. And in turn, they also have raised their children in the church. Today we watched on as the fourth generation began her journey as a child of God through baptism. I know that Grace, who has now completed her baptism and is with the Lord, would have been so happy to see her great-granddaughter start the very journey she herself cherished in her own life.

Today our pastor talked about being the salt of the earth and a light to the world (Matthew 5:13-16). Grace was surely that and her light will continue on well into the future as this little girl and generations to come are brought up to know and love the Lord as Grace did. Two hundred years from now, the world may not remember or know that Grace was here, but her light, the light of hope found only in Jesus, will still be shining in the generations of children nurtured in the faith by the family of faith that Grace loved and cared for. What a wonderful legacy this woman has left us.

That’s the kind of legacy I want to leave. Though I don’t have any children to whom I can pass on my faith, I can pass on my faith in some way to everyone I meet like Grace did. I hope that when the Lord calls me home, there will be someone who knew very little of me, but from our few encounters could tell the world that I loved Jesus passionately and shared that love with him or her in some way, be it big or small.

May God bless you with love, peace, hope, and grace.

About the pictures:
Fichter Fairy Garden (May/June 2011)