In Memory Of Nanny

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Pastor James May

In Memory of Nanny!

Victory Temple

5/6/01 Sun AM

We come together this morning as a church family. But there is a different feeling here this morning for most of us because we have experienced the loss of a dear Saint of God. There are mixed feelings on occasions such as this. Firstly, there is sadness for ourselves as we know that Sis. Elmore will be so greatly missed. Her prayers and her presence have been such a powerful influence upon not just myself but upon the entire church.

After we get past our great feelings of loss and grief, we must come to the realization that Sis. Elmore, or Nanny as I have always called her, has ceased to suffer from her illnesses and that she is so very happy this morning. I can just picture in my mind this morning her expressions as she was carried by the angels into the presence of Jesus Christ her Lord.

Four weeks ago, on April 1st, 2001, Nanny gave us a word from the Lord in a sermon titled, “The Promises of God”. She spoke of hiding the Word in her heart and of holding to the promises of God. Her life was an example of one who loved Jesus and she testified of Christ on every opportunity. She told us of the cost of discipleship and faithfulness to the calling of God upon our lives. The words of her sermon were powerful and spoke volumes to us of living for God but the greatest sermon she preached was the way she lived her life.

Most of you may not have known Nanny well enough to remember one of her favorite expressions and so perhaps you won’t get the full meaning of this, but I can almost hear her as she begins to experience life in Heaven.

“My Lands”, I never dreamed Heaven could be so beautiful. I can see Nanny in the spirit as her pain is gone, as she is clothed in pure white, glowing with joy and happiness and shouting the victory this morning, the beginning of a long and glorious day in eternity. I can see her face as she is beaming with peace and happiness when she finds her husband, Ralph, and they hold hands and, along with the angels and Jesus, they begin to stroll through those golden avenues and walk beside the River of Life. Oh, what a time Nanny is having this morning!

Certainly we shall miss here in this earthly realm, but what joy there is in our hearts and what peace we have in our soul, to know with certainty that we shall all see her again very soon as we shall all cross that river into glory one day. Whether it is years in this fleshly tabernacle or whether Jesus catches us away in the next heartbeat, the fact is that life itself is but a puff of smoke in the light of eternity and it will soon be done.

While it is a wonderful thing to remember our dear friend and sister in the Lord, I know that if Nanny could speak here this morning, she would say to me, “That’s enough of that! Quit talking about me and talk about the Lord. Tell these folks about my Savior for He is the one that can help them, not me. Tell them about the truth of God’s Word and the fact that each of you will soon follow the same path that I have walked”

And so, in memory of my friend Nanny, that’s what I intend to do.

2 Corinthians 5:1-8, "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight). We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord."