THE FUNERAL OF A FAITHFUL GODLY WOMAN By Gerald Van Horn
On behalf of the family of Neasha, I wish to thank each of you for being here today and though today is a very difficult day, the scriptures make this promise:
Psalms 46:1-3 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear. Even though the earth be removed, and the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled. Though the mountains shake with its swelling.”
And the Bible also says:
Romans 8:35-38 - “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword? But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.”
OPENING PRAYER:
Dear Heavenly Father, we gather here today to remember the life of Neasha. We also gather to say goodbye one last time and celebrate the life that she enjoyed here on earth and to thank you for each precious moment and memory that we have had with her. Her life has touched so many in so many different ways. We pray that your peace and presence will be upon us during this time and we pray this in the name of your Son. Amen
As we gather here this morning to celebrate and remember the dear and precious life of Neasha, I know that many of you are dealing with mixed emotions. On the one hand, there are emotions of great sadness. Sadness not for Neasha, because Neasha is in a far better place, but sadness because we have lost a dear loved one.
But on the other hand, there is great joy...knowing that because of the relationship that Neasha had with the Lord Jesus Christ, that she has already been in His presence. For the scripture says in...
2 Cor. 5:6-8 “So, we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased - rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”
And for the Christian there is no greater joy than to be in the presence of the One that loves them like no one else can.
You see, Neasha had a relationship that carried some wonderful promises found in John chapter 14:1-3 - “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 unto Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
These are the words that I have chosen to describe Neasha:
1. CHEERFUL - She always had a smile for everyone and a warm greeting for you. She did a lot of volunteer work here at the church for several years - answering the phone, helping in the office with mail outs, making calls for food for funeral dinners, ready to help in any way she could. You always knew when she answered the phone because of her warm and pleasant voice. She made you feel like you were the most important person in the world at that moment.
2. TALENTED - For many years she worked in the Dr.’s offices as a “Medical Assistant”. She was very efficient and was an asset to each office she worked in. When Dr. Casper called on her to help the day of the Murrah Building bombing, she responded and went immediately to Oklahoma City. She worked long hours that day. By the way, it was while she was working for Dr. Casper’s office that she met her husband who came in as a patient one day. They started dating...and it was love at “first sight”.
3. LOVING - This wonderful woman was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She loved everybody and went out of her way to express her love to you. She was always ready to help anyone in need. She loved her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with all her heart.
4. FAITHFUL - You could always depend on her. When she said that she would help or do something, she always did it. She was faithful to her church, worshipping her lord and Savior. She was a great example to our whole church of being “faithful until the very end.”
IN CONCLUSION...Neasha left a great legacy for her family and friends...all these special traits that his wonderful woman exhibited, means that she will NEVER BE FORGOTTEN by her family and friends. We honor Neasha today and give praise and thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ who loved her and gave Himself for her. This past Sunday morning, Neasha stepped into the portals of glory - and I know that she was happily greeted by her grandson who recently died, and I sure he said to her, “Grandma, I’m so glad to see you...I’ve been waiting for you”.
Neasha was the kind of person that gives us one more reason for making heaven our home. We want to see her again and walk those streets of gold with her. I believe Jesus said, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant - enter into the joys of the Lord.”
2 Timothy 4:7,8 says, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge shall give me at that day and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father:
We thank you for the life of Neasha. We thank you for all the lives that she has touched and the memories that she has left. We pray that you will comfort family members and friends and may we all be reminded of the frailty of life - for it is in your Son’s precious Name that we pray. Amen.
