This past weekend, we celebrated the life of my Grammie, Elizabeth "Pat" McClellan during a beautiful memorial service in her honor. She was, and is, an amazing person, and it was wonderful to hear stories of her life through the eyes of all who shared. Three generations spoke of her during the service, and I was honored to represent one of them. In honor of my Grammie, I wanted to post here on my blog the words I prepared to honor her life that day...
As you’ve heard from the reading of Grammie’s obituary, you can tell that she lived a full life, and it’s obvious that she was gifted in many ways. And as you’ve heard different people share, you’ve also gotten just a small taste of the impact she has had on people’s lives…even while she was living at Anam Care in her final years.
It was while she was there that I gained new insight into how God created us, and what it means to have a relationship with Christ, too. As Grammie’s physical self was weakening, her memory fogging, and she became less able to communicate, it was her body and her mind that were failing her. But all the while, her spirit was alive and strong, and on numerous occasions, after extended visits where most of her sentences didn’t make sense, if I asked her to pray for me, or if she initiated that herself, some of the most precious and profound things would pour from her lips as she prayed in the Name of Jesus. Yes…after 93 years, Grammie’s body and mind may have been failing her, but her spirit was alive toward God…and I know she has been reunited with her Savior, with Grandpa, and with many others who she loves.
After living such a long life full of many experiences, two of the stories that she would repeat to me over and over again in the last years of her life were from when she went on some missions trips with Grandpa to Russia, China and Hong Kong. In part, I think she shared those stories with me again and again because of that connection to missions that we shared, but I believe it was more than just that, too.
As her mind and memory began to fail her, what was still very much alive and significant to her were the experiences in her life with eternal significance. She and Grandpa were both a part of bringing Bibles to people in China…literally bringing them the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
She would recount a story, too, of taking a long walk with their driver and guide for one of those trips…one who didn’t know Christ…and as they walked up the steps of a local temple during one of their tourist stops, how she shared the Good News of the One True God and His Son Jesus…and how when they walked back down those stairs and he received the gift of salvation how his countenance changed because His heart and life had changed. Impacting lives one-on-one was definitely one of my Grammie’s gifts. I often remember her approaching complete strangers just to give them a kind word, a compliment or to take their hand in hers to offer some encouragement. Honestly, sometimes as a younger person it would embarrass me… As I’ve gotten older, though, it’s one of the many things I’ve come to admire about my grandma.
Grammie would also speak again and again about her time at the woman’s prison she visited in Russia and how the stories, love and encouragement she shared with them along with Jesus impacted lives there, too. These were some of the memories she held onto the longest…and these were some of the things in her life that will have the longest lasting impact, too…as lasting as eternity.
Like so many of us do, Grammie often struggled with trying to make everything appear perfect and in order on the outside even when things weren’t always going well on the inside or behind the scenes. She was always helping others but didn’t often let down her guard to open her heart to those around her. There were times she dared to be vulnerable in her private writings, however, and she found comfort in her relationship with Christ. It wasn’t always that way, though. Grammie made some poor choices in her life and things weren’t always easy or good. There were even seasons in her life when she was leaning toward the supernatural apart from God, but in her later years, she recognized the dangers and falseness in that and even used her story and experiences in these things to warn and encourage others that true life comes only through Jesus and the supernatural power of His death, burial and resurrection.
Resurrection…Life…How fitting it was for Grammie to transition to heaven just before Easter this year. I know for me and others in our family, it brought the reality of what Easter is really all about…God’s love, the promise of resurrection life and the hope of an eternity spent with Him…into a fuller focus.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:14 it reads, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, as in fact He did, God in this same way, by raising them from the dead, will bring with Him those believers who have died in Jesus.” In the verse just before that, we are encouraged that we are not to grieve as those who have no hope. Our hope, you see, our confident expectation, is that we will see Grammie again…either when we, too, die in Christ, or when Christ comes again to receive the living and the dead in Him.
The day before she died, my grandma and I had some special time together for much of that day. One of the things I was able to look into her eyes and share with her was how much I loved her and that she wasn’t just a significant part of my past, but that she would always be in my future, too. Grammie and Grandpa may be in heaven now, but because we all have become part of God’s family through Jesus Christ, they are in my future, too. This is the hope that we have. It’s a hope you can have, too.
Grammie wasn’t perfect…thank God for His love, grace and mercy…but she was precious in the eyes of many people and she impacted many lives, too. Most importantly, though, she was precious in the eyes of God. One of Grammie’s favorite phrases was, “God knows my face.” But He also knew her heart…that in the midst of pains that remained hidden and deep through many years, that she ultimately had given her heart to Him. It’s because of that fact that God knows my grandma’s face….and when she passed away and transitioned from this temporal life to eternal life in March, she finally saw her beloved Jesus face-to-face and heard Him say, “Well done my good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord.”
Both my grandma and grandpa would want you to have the opportunity to know God face-to-face and heart-to-heart, too. You’re here today because you somehow knew Grammie—even if it be through someone in our family—and you wanted to honor her. There would be no better way to honor her, though, than by becoming a part of her spiritual legacy…than by becoming a part of Christ’s legacy of love and eternal inheritance through receiving His gift of eternal life.
You don’t have to get up, fix-up or clean-up in order to receive His gift of salvation and a fresh and new start in life. You only have to recognize your need for Him, acknowledge that He died and was raised from the dead for you, and surrender your life in exchange for His. God loves you so much, and as we give place for His Love and His Holy Spirit in our hearts, it really does change everything. And as we do, we’ll all be able to remember Grammie…Mom… Pat...Betty…Elizabeth Mary…and say, “You’re not just in our past, but you’re in our future…and we’ll see you soon…” Love always, Grammie…and forever…
1 John 4:8b-10 …God is love. And God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love--not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
John 17:3 And this is the way to have eternal life—to know…the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, the one (He) sent to earth.
John 3:16 For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
John 14:3 (Jesus said,) “I go to prepare a place for you…that where I am you also may be.” Welcome home, Pat…
It was while she was there that I gained new insight into how God created us, and what it means to have a relationship with Christ, too. As Grammie’s physical self was weakening, her memory fogging, and she became less able to communicate, it was her body and her mind that were failing her. But all the while, her spirit was alive and strong, and on numerous occasions, after extended visits where most of her sentences didn’t make sense, if I asked her to pray for me, or if she initiated that herself, some of the most precious and profound things would pour from her lips as she prayed in the Name of Jesus. Yes…after 93 years, Grammie’s body and mind may have been failing her, but her spirit was alive toward God…and I know she has been reunited with her Savior, with Grandpa, and with many others who she loves.
After living such a long life full of many experiences, two of the stories that she would repeat to me over and over again in the last years of her life were from when she went on some missions trips with Grandpa to Russia, China and Hong Kong. In part, I think she shared those stories with me again and again because of that connection to missions that we shared, but I believe it was more than just that, too.
As her mind and memory began to fail her, what was still very much alive and significant to her were the experiences in her life with eternal significance. She and Grandpa were both a part of bringing Bibles to people in China…literally bringing them the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
She would recount a story, too, of taking a long walk with their driver and guide for one of those trips…one who didn’t know Christ…and as they walked up the steps of a local temple during one of their tourist stops, how she shared the Good News of the One True God and His Son Jesus…and how when they walked back down those stairs and he received the gift of salvation how his countenance changed because His heart and life had changed. Impacting lives one-on-one was definitely one of my Grammie’s gifts. I often remember her approaching complete strangers just to give them a kind word, a compliment or to take their hand in hers to offer some encouragement. Honestly, sometimes as a younger person it would embarrass me… As I’ve gotten older, though, it’s one of the many things I’ve come to admire about my grandma.
Grammie would also speak again and again about her time at the woman’s prison she visited in Russia and how the stories, love and encouragement she shared with them along with Jesus impacted lives there, too. These were some of the memories she held onto the longest…and these were some of the things in her life that will have the longest lasting impact, too…as lasting as eternity.
Like so many of us do, Grammie often struggled with trying to make everything appear perfect and in order on the outside even when things weren’t always going well on the inside or behind the scenes. She was always helping others but didn’t often let down her guard to open her heart to those around her. There were times she dared to be vulnerable in her private writings, however, and she found comfort in her relationship with Christ. It wasn’t always that way, though. Grammie made some poor choices in her life and things weren’t always easy or good. There were even seasons in her life when she was leaning toward the supernatural apart from God, but in her later years, she recognized the dangers and falseness in that and even used her story and experiences in these things to warn and encourage others that true life comes only through Jesus and the supernatural power of His death, burial and resurrection.
Resurrection…Life…How fitting it was for Grammie to transition to heaven just before Easter this year. I know for me and others in our family, it brought the reality of what Easter is really all about…God’s love, the promise of resurrection life and the hope of an eternity spent with Him…into a fuller focus.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:14 it reads, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, as in fact He did, God in this same way, by raising them from the dead, will bring with Him those believers who have died in Jesus.” In the verse just before that, we are encouraged that we are not to grieve as those who have no hope. Our hope, you see, our confident expectation, is that we will see Grammie again…either when we, too, die in Christ, or when Christ comes again to receive the living and the dead in Him.
The day before she died, my grandma and I had some special time together for much of that day. One of the things I was able to look into her eyes and share with her was how much I loved her and that she wasn’t just a significant part of my past, but that she would always be in my future, too. Grammie and Grandpa may be in heaven now, but because we all have become part of God’s family through Jesus Christ, they are in my future, too. This is the hope that we have. It’s a hope you can have, too.
Grammie wasn’t perfect…thank God for His love, grace and mercy…but she was precious in the eyes of many people and she impacted many lives, too. Most importantly, though, she was precious in the eyes of God. One of Grammie’s favorite phrases was, “God knows my face.” But He also knew her heart…that in the midst of pains that remained hidden and deep through many years, that she ultimately had given her heart to Him. It’s because of that fact that God knows my grandma’s face….and when she passed away and transitioned from this temporal life to eternal life in March, she finally saw her beloved Jesus face-to-face and heard Him say, “Well done my good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord.”
Both my grandma and grandpa would want you to have the opportunity to know God face-to-face and heart-to-heart, too. You’re here today because you somehow knew Grammie—even if it be through someone in our family—and you wanted to honor her. There would be no better way to honor her, though, than by becoming a part of her spiritual legacy…than by becoming a part of Christ’s legacy of love and eternal inheritance through receiving His gift of eternal life.
You don’t have to get up, fix-up or clean-up in order to receive His gift of salvation and a fresh and new start in life. You only have to recognize your need for Him, acknowledge that He died and was raised from the dead for you, and surrender your life in exchange for His. God loves you so much, and as we give place for His Love and His Holy Spirit in our hearts, it really does change everything. And as we do, we’ll all be able to remember Grammie…Mom… Pat...Betty…Elizabeth Mary…and say, “You’re not just in our past, but you’re in our future…and we’ll see you soon…” Love always, Grammie…and forever…
1 John 4:8b-10 …God is love. And God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love--not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
John 17:3 And this is the way to have eternal life—to know…the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, the one (He) sent to earth.
John 3:16 For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
John 14:3 (Jesus said,) “I go to prepare a place for you…that where I am you also may be.” Welcome home, Pat…
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