Lucille Mcham
Lucille Mcham, a daughter, a mother, an aunt, a sister, a cousin, a friend, a wife and a child of God. Today we celebrate the homegoing of one who decided to let Jesus Christ make a difference in her life. It’s something how we see death as a time for sorrow and for grief, in that we are saying good-bye to someone we love. God shares in our suffering and grief in that the Lord knows the loss that we feel. But at the same time God gives a special hope in moments like these.
God has a another view by which He looks at death. It says in Psalm 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. Let it be known today that something precious happened in heaven, last Sunday morning when Lucille breathed out for the last time. Lucille found freedom from the body that was keeping her from serving the Lord in the way she wanted to serve. Today she can once again sing the praises of her Lord Jesus Christ. We’ve got a reason to be happy for her on this night.
Lucille’s death was precious, because she died in the Lord. My friends death has a date set for us all, but that date will only be precious if we die in the Lord. All of life is journey to death. It takes some of us longer than others to reach our destination but we eventually will get there. Some of us take fancier and more prestigious routes than others, but the final exit is still at the same stop called death.
Once we reached that stop, the issue becomes whose waiting for us to give us directions on the other side. Jesus said, "I’m going away to prepare a place for you and I will come back and take you with me that you also may be where I am." There’s nothing like having a guide when you reach unfamiliar territory. We can rejoice in knowing that while we were all catching a little sleep before coming to church, Lucille had a guide leading her to church service that stays in the presence of God."
Some ask if God is loving, why is there death. I see it as, because God is loving there is death. Can you imagine what a burden it would be to have to live life in the way we know it forever? What it would be to have pain in our bodies, unforgiveness and bitterness in our soul, or to be stuck at the bottom of poverty forever. God has seen all the evil, and the madness, and the pain that goes on in the world, and God decided that at some point this must stop.
That point is death.
God has always wanted to be in close relationship to human beings, because that’s why He created us. But God is holy and righteous. Once we did wrong as human beings, the penalty for that wrong was that we were to die. God’s holiness would destroy us if we attempted to be in His presence with wrong in our lives. That’s why God does not dwell with us as He did in the beginning of time. Our behavior brought about the separation.
God loved us to much to leave us alone, and God knew there was nothing we could do to pay the penalty for the wrong we have done. That is why Jesus Christ entered into the world. Jesus offered himself as a payment for the wrong that we have done. It is through Jesus Christ, that we find the forgiveness and mercy of God. To receive it, we simply acknowledge, yes God I know that I have done wrong and deserve death for it. I ask your forgiveness of my wrong and I accept the work that Jesus Christ has done on my behalf. I give my life to serve Him in appreciation of the work He has done for me.
Going to heaven is not a matter of having done more good things than bad ones. Going to heaven is dependent on whether you died having accepted the work of Jesus Christ or not. Lucille’s death was precious, not because she lived the holiest and most moral life possible. Her death was precious because she died in Christ. When she died, God smiled and said, "that’s one of mind, take her to one of the rooms my son Jesus has prepared. We’ve been expecting her."
My friend if you were to die today, would God say the same about you. If God would not, then you are living your life in vain. The only decision that you make, that will still be affecting you personally 200 years from today, is the decision you make as to whether or not you have chosen to follow Jesus Christ. For only what’s done for Christ is going to last.
We rejoice in knowing that Lucille McHam’s living was not in vain. Jesus had made a difference in her life. From the very beginning of our lives God is at work in us whether we know it or not. He gives us gifts, personalities, and temperaments to be used to make this world a better place and to lead others to Himself. When God looked at Lucille, He decided to give her both intelligence and wisdom. It’s a blessing to have both. Lucille herself would say, there’s nothing worse than an educated fool.
Her intelligence could be seen in that when World War II was breaking out in Europe, Lucille was marching down the aisle as valedictorian of her class at __________ high school. Her mind was as bright and as sharp as any other valedictorian in any other school in the city of Cleveland. Yet her father did not believe a woman needed a college education. That blocked part of her future. Who knows to what heights in the world, this woman of brilliance may have attained if she had been given the opportunity. Her gift of wisdom let her know, even though one door closes it does not mean one cannot continue to expand his or her horizon. During the remaining years of her life, Lucille took more courses than many of us did the entire time we were in college.
She took courses in auto mechanics, in gardening, in upholstering, in cake decorating, in pottery, in music, in photography, in cooking, in electrical repair and in a whole lot more. The woman took so many courses on so many things and how to repair it, it was almost impossible to throw anything away in her presence. She would say fix it, you do not need to buy another one. She would go with through this church with a hammer and a nail just daring something to fall apart. The upholstery on these pew chairs were done by Lucille. She’d let any man know, she could fix anything as well as any man could. And she could.
Whereas some of us went to school and took subjects like Latin, all we did was take the book home and bring it back to school. When the semester over, that stuff went out of her heads quicker than we could say summer vacation. Not Lucille, she took the book and the course and somehow put it in her brain to stay. Lucille did not throw around big words, but she was ready if you tried to throw around one on her as if to talk over her head. She knew her Latin, and could get to the derivative of words and she knew what you were talking about. After you left, she’d say, " he better not be coming around with all those great big words trying to impress somebody. I’ll put him in place with some words he does not even know about yet."
Lucille had a sense of wit and humor about her that would keep you on your toes. She was not the kind of person who said one thing behind your back and something else in your face. No, you were going to get the truth as she saw it directly from her. She was just an honest straightforward kind of a person. She knew how to stand up and be counted when it was time to stand up. She was not going to be a pushover for anybody. Although she threatened many times to go upside somebody’s head, to record we do not think she carried out any of those threats.
Lucille had a very tender side to her underneath the tough image she sometimes projected. Her family was very important to her. Both of her sons can testify of some very special moments they shared with their mother. Lucille’s husband Lloyd died a few years ago. Lucille almost didn’t want to have anything to do with him. On one visit, we asked Lucille what attracted her to Lloyd.
She said he was so caring in his attitude. She met Lloyd at the church. Lloyd asked her if she needed any money. Now you know how willing Lucille was to humble herself and ask a man for money, she told him, "No I don’t need any money." Well it wasn’t but a few days later when Lloyd ask her to let him borrow $15. Lucille thought to herself, what kind of man is this. I hardly know him and he’s asking me to loan him money. She told him, "I don’t have $15". To which Lloyd responded I thought you said you didn’t need any money. He had set her up for that one.
Lloyd had been living as a bachelor for 29 years when he met Lucille. He knew about that verse that says, "He who finds a wife, finds a good thing", but he must have been trying to make sure he found a real good one. Well when he saw Lucille, he knew he had some of the cream of the crop. Within 2 weeks after they met, he asked if she wanted to get married. "She told him, you don’t even know me. How could you want to get married." Lloyd told her, "I’ve seen enough women to know that you’re the one I want." Lucille made the poor fellow wait five more years.
Then she had poor Lloyd living in fear. He took her to Geagua Lake. They went to one of those rifle shooting galleries. He gave Lucille the gun, and one after another she knocked off target after target. When it was over, Lloyd’s friend told him, "man don’t you ever give that woman a real gun or you could be in trouble."
Lucille’s greatest love though, will be the love she had for Jesus Christ. Every now and then you come across a person who you are certain will hear the words from Jesus, "well done thou good and faithful servant." Lucille is such a person. Our church is here today because she was among those with a vision to start a new work for the Lord. She had been out of the church for a while. Her son John told her, "there’s a new church starting not too far from your house. Why not go there."
His suggestion was one of the greatest things to happen to the future of Glenville New Life Community Church, known then as Glenville Presbyterian Church. If we had a church Hall of Fame, Lucille would deserve to be in it. Lucille has been a member here since the founding back in 1962. More than being a member, she knew what it was to be a part of the body of Christ. Lucille has always been a team player in getting the job done. She was going to do her part and then some, whether you did yours or not, because she was working for the Lord.
She blessed this church with her service as a deacon. She used the wisdom God gave to her in serving as an elder. She put forth her talent within her and sang in the choir. Only the Lord knows how much cooking she did in the kitchen. How many chairs she repaired with her tool box, and how many tables were left standing because she got to them in time. She was a friend to the friendless.
When it came to her giving, Lucille was not ashamed of what she gave to the Lord. She was a tither, and would tell people "y’all need to quit giving God a tip and start paying your tithes." You did not have to come and beg her for her per capita. But Lucille also did a lot of giving to the needs of others in secret. She gave the church several special offerings and donated this organ. She never wanted it known when she gave something beyond what was expected. It was alright with her if her name was left out. She loved her Lord enough to give to the work of the Kingdom.
Lucille was a woman of compassion for those who were hurting. It was important to her that the older members of the church not be forgotten or neglected after they were not longer able to be in worship. If Lucille was your friend, then you had a real friend.
She had a desire to grow in her knowledge of Jesus Christ. She was not afraid to come to Bible Study as many of the saints appear to be. She was ready with a Scripture verse. She knew what it was to be changed by Scripture and to be submitted to Jesus Christ. If ever there was a genuine team player, it was our sister Lucille McHam. She knew what it was to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord
Lucille looked forward to being with the Lord. She demonstrated it by the way she lived as well as by the way she died.
Lucille has been a been a lot of things during her life. A daughter, a mother, an aunt, a wife, a sister, a friend, a co-worker, a grandmother, and a church member. But the greatest of all relationships that Lucille has been involved with, is that Lucille has been and forever will be a child of God.
Like the apostle Paul, Lucille’s life has not been lived in vain. His word of encouragement to us in found in the Scriptures in 2 Timothy 4:6-8 " the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
For those who die without knowing Jesus Christ as their own personal savior, Lucille McHam will forever be just a special memory. But for those who die as she died, in the Lord, Lucille is expecting to see us on more time. That one more time is going to last forever for the Scriptures tells us 1 Th 4:13-18 Brothers and Sisters, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men and women, who have no hope.
We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.
