Psalm 139:1-10
by Jason Sole
| 1 | You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. |
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| 2 | You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. |
| 3 | You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. |
| 4 | Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. |
| 5 | You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. |
| 6 | Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. |
| 7 | Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? |
| 8 | If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. |
| 9 | If I rise on the wings of the dawn,if I settle on the far side of the sea, |
| 10 | even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. |
I love Jane Evans. She is my Granny. She always had a smile and a hug. And grilled cheese. I am the oldest of the grandkids, but I hold no monopoly of love for her. I am one of 6 children, 10 grandchildren, and 15 great grandchildren. And all of you; cousins, daughters in law, sons in law, co-workers, friends. We are ALL here because we love Jane. We count ourselves blessed for having known her. I love Jane Evans. She is my granny.
But I did not know when she sat and when she rose. I did not perceive her every thought. I did not know the words she would say before she said them. When she left, she was out of my presence. My right hand was empty.
I love Jane Evans. She is my granny.
But I did not LOVE her. Not like this. Not like her creator. I did not track her every move as precious. I did not concern myself with her every thought. I did not pursue her as Jesus did.
He LOVES her. She is his daughter. He loves her like noone else has ever loved her – not were we to somehow combine all the love in this room.
He loved her to the point of death. He gave his life for her. He gave his life not because she deserved it. Not because she was a good person. Not because she lived a life free of mistakes. He gave his life because he loved her. He made her. He designed her. Her laugh and smile that brought me joy are there because He put them there. Because they brought Him joy first.
I love Jane Evans. She is my granny. But my right hand is empty. His is not.
Hallelujah!
Revelation 21:1-4
by Peter Sole Jr.
| 1 | Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. |
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| 2 | I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. |
| 3 | And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! Godís dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. |
| 4 | ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” |
This verse was also originally read years ago at Janet’s funeral.
When I was asked to read it, Honestly at first I was real troubled, If you have studied the book of Revelation at all, you may feel this verse is a little out of context for a memorial service.
I had to think about how to “tie it in” for a while, then it hit me. – Granny picked these verses years ago I think because when it said:
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.î
IT IMPACTED HER.
You see, granny spent her whole life wiping away tears from other peoples eyes, and sometimes her own. She experienced the death of loved ones, she experienced sorrow and crying and pain, but I think she experienced all of that much more than we know. The reason for that is whenever any of her loved ones went through these sorrows that life gives us, she felt it too, she hurt so much for everyone, every time someone was in pain, she was in pain for them, right along side them, and wanted every time to help heal them. I have so many memories of her just sitting beside me, holding my hand and asking how I was feeling, and when she asked, you could always tell that whatever problem you had, she felt it too and she was going to be bound and determined to fix it. Many times with food!
I remember when I was a little boy and school was hard for me, can any of you believe I had a hard time sitting still and fitting in? Granny saw it in my face that things were hard, I am sure she had heard from my mother all about things too, but she was just heartbroken for me, she hurt, I could see it clear s day, I was probably only 7 or 8 years old, but I could really see how much she hurt for me. It impacted me, the way she was so caring and concerned for me at that time. That stayed with me, I think we all can remember similar experiences like that. We all learned a lot about tender heartedness and love from Granny, that impact will always be with us all.
Granny knew that no matter how much effort she gave though, that she was not ever going to truly fix us, she knew that though we may find peace through Christs gift of salvation here on earth that this was still a fallen world and that this fallen world still has pain, death and sorrow. The reason I believe Granny picked that verse is because she felt it spoke to how through Salvation, someday we will be completely new, completely peaceful with no tears and no sorrow. The thought of us being truly healed. What a big heart she had!
I want to read that part of the verse again
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
The Sole Family 