Barbara Gary

Come To Me—Words for Mom Gary’s memorial service The death of a loved one is never easy. It hurts deeply. Even when we think we’re prepared, when it happens we find we weren’t-- it kind of takes our breath away. Death is a mystery, an unsettling mystery. They were just here, and then they were gone. Their body is here but their spirit is gone. They’ve slipped away. Probably no one has given us a clearer picture of what death means to a Christian than John Quincy Adams. When Adams was turning eighty, he was hobbling down the street one day, leaning heavily on a cane, when suddenly a friend slapped him on the shoulder and said, ”Well, how’s John Quincy Adams this morning?” The old man turned slowly, smiled, and said, ”Fine Sir, fine! But this old tenement that John Quincy lives in is not so good. The underpinning is about to fall away, the thatch is all gone off the roof, and the windows are so dim John Quincy can hardly see out anymore. As a matter of fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if before winter’s over he had to move out. But as for John Quincy Adams, he never was better… never was better!” With this he started hobbling on down the street, believing without a shadow of a doubt that the real John Quincy Adams was not a body that you could enclose in a casket or bury in a grave. He recognized that beyond the temporary physical man on the outside, there is a spiritual and eternal man on the inside. The flesh dies and is buried, but the spirit lives forever with God. Jesus promised, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” John 11:25-26 Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also”. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:1-3, 6 Jesus conquered death at the cross. So if we turn to Him, call to Him, trust in Him, He promises us eternal life with Him. He promises to never leave us or forsake us. He promises to walk with us through this life as our Savior, our Deliverer, our Comforter, our King and then call us home to eternal life with Him. God’s word is really a love song, calling us to Himself. It’s filled with His precious promises of His love and faithfulness and words of truth and comfort for our weary souls. His word says, This is who I am, come to Me For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 Jesus said, I am the Bread of Life, I am the Light of the world, I am the Good Shepherd, I am the Way the Truth and the Life, I am your Prince of Peace. Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” …rest for your souls. Mat 11.28 Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him. 1 Cor 2.9 He is our God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. He is our God, the same God who commanded light to shine out darkness, (Let there be light!) who has shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Cor 4:6 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! 1 John 3.1 But life gets hard, especially hard at times like these when you’ve lost someone you love. And God can seem far away. We may wonder if He hears our prayers, wonder if He’s listening. But He’s not far way, He’s right here with us. We’ve just gotten distracted by the cares, the stress, the sorrows of this world, and taken our eyes off of Him. We just need to turn back to Him. God’s word says, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No! in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom 8.35, 37-39 The Lord says, Come to me, Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior Is 43.1-3 We might cry out, The LORD has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me. Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; Is 49:14-16 Our God, who cannot lie, who knows every sparrow that falls, He sees us, He hears us, He’s with us, He’s for us. The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; (just think, every morning new mercies from God - how great is that!) Great is your faithfulness O Lord. Lam 3.22-23 And one of my favorite verses: The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zeph 3.17 Let those words sink into your heart. The Lord of all creation is here, in our midst. He sees our pain. He feels our sorrows. He wants to quiet our hearts with His love. He calls us to salvation. He rejoices over us with gladness and with singing because of His great love for us. We cannot fathom how great His love is. Our human minds don’t have the capacity to conceive of the depths of the love of God. And if we doubt His love we can look to the cross. He did that for us. Draw near to Him. He is mighty to save. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Ps 23 Let us pray Father God, We thank you for Your mercy that is new every morning, for Your comfort, for Your wisdom and guidance, for Your forgiveness, for Your faithfulness, for Your strength, for the joy You bring to our hearts, for Your unfailing, unfathomable love and for Your gift of salvation and eternal life. We thank you Lord. And I pray in the strong and mighty name of Jesus.

Barbara Gary

April 20, 1931 - February 27, 2016